FateAll Stars
by xxxgokuhiro
Summary: An AU version of Fate/Stay Night, set in Fuyuki city. Except, Fate/Stay Night is a game created by Type-MOON, and the battle is instead fought by people using modified cellphones to summon servants from anime and manga to fight for the grail. The tournament is hosted by Type-MOON. Expect crack, due to multiple clashing universes. (Updating again)
1. Chapter 1 - Night 0

As compared to my last work (Which was intentionally bad), I will be putting a ton more effort into this work to make it enjoyable to read. Or at least, not make you want to gouge out your eyes.

I don't own any of the works that may occur in the following paragraphs, but I will list them at the bottom, and you should give 'em a read.

* * *

"Hey, big bro! You got a package in the mail!"

Damien glanced up from his book to the doorway in his room. Standing there was his sister, Iza, holding a brown package with the FedEx logo stamped on the side.

She glanced around the room, taking in the sight of Damien sprawled on his bed with a manga in his hands, to the bookcases in the corner with stacks of DVDs and tankobon. Plastering the walls and ceiling were posters of popular anime and video games, and a GameCube was hooked up to the computer, quietly humming as it ran in power saving mode. She raised an eyebrow at the clutter.

"I honestly didn't think you had any money to order more junk with. Didn't you blow it all on that Swords Art thing you bought last month?" She smiled as Damien scowled from under his mop of black hair at her mispronunciation of the Anime.

"Haha." Damien grouched as he swung his legs off the bed and walked over. "I'll have you know that I have planned out my spending habits, and have more than enough left over."

"And how much is that?" Iza innocently asked.

"None of your business." Damien took the package from his sister. Standing next to her, she was about half a head taller than his own five feet, and she affectionately tousled his hair as he turned the box over in his hands.

"Whatever, Lil' Bro, I'm just teasing. Dinner's in an hour." Iza said as she walked down the hallway towards the stairs.

Damien brushed his hair back into place, then shut his door, before starring at the package. Iza was right. He HADN'T ordered anything recently, so what the hell was the package. Finding an envelope tapped to what he assumed was the top, he pulled it off and proceeded to open it.

Inside was a letter, which he unfolded and began to read.

'Mr. Grey. Thank you for participating in Nasu-Con last year. You are one of seven lucky winners in the drawing from the participants, and as such, have received a prize!' Damien glanced over at the package, and then went back to the letter. 'On top of the prize, you have also received the opportunity to participate in a contest being held in Fuyuki City.'

Damien glanced up from the letter. "Huh. That's convenient." He muttered, thinking how lucky it was that his parents had moved overseas to Fuyuki for business reasons just a few years ago. He went back to the letter.

'The contest will begin as soon as everyone who won the drawing has entered the password at the bottom of this letter into their computer at the listed URL' At the bottom of the letter was indeed a string of letters, and a website link. Damien continued reading. 'We sincerely hope that you enjoy the competition. Signed, Type-MOON.'

Damien sat down on his bed, setting aside the letter. Turning to the package, he worked his fingers under the tape and broke it along the tear lines. Opening the tab, he pulled out the packaging paper, and grabbed the object inside.

Upon pulling it out, he discovered that the object was a smart phone, about four inches long and two inches wide. It was pure black, with the fate/stay Night logo emblazoned on the back in bright red. Turning it over in his hands, he marveled at the compactness. "Dang. They weren't kidding when they said they were giving out prizes." Damien mumbled to himself.

Looking in the box, he found the Phones charging cable, and plugged it into his computer. The screen flicked on after a few seconds, displaying a battery charging Icon.

"Alright then. I can fiddle around with it after dinner." He clicked the light out to his room and went downstairs.

* * *

'Ah, that was delicious.' Damien thought as he clicked the lights back on. His sister had prepared fried rice with egg and pork, with a side of chopped cabbage salad, and fresh garlic bread. Despite her dishes having no theme, his sister was a good cook, and whatever she made was usually great.

Stretching, Damien caught sight of himself in his closet mirror. His black hair was unruly, spiking off his head every which way, resembling the anime characters he obsessed over. His clothes were wrinkly, from lying and sitting down to long. A t-shirt and jeans were his usual ensemble, and today was no exception, his black shirt bearing a cracked Nintendo logo, the design flaking off from years of wear. He shook his head. 'Man, I look like a nerd' he thought, shrugging.

Turning his back to his closet, he pulled out his computer chair and opened the internet. Going to the website listed in the letter, he pulled it up in his browser.

'Welcome to the Ani-Grail!' The banner at the top of the screen pronounced. Scanning downwards, Damien began to read, but a lot of the text didn't make sense. 'Compete in the next war', 'Favorite character from any animated series', 'Challenge yourself and your competitors for a chance to win the ultimate prize'? Damien scrolled down to the bottom of the page, where he spotted a box with 'Type Password Here'

Grabbing the letter, Damien found the code, then typed in 'Raw Liarg Yloh', and hit enter. A command box popped up.

'Do you want to participate? [Yes] / [No]'

Damien moused over to the yes button and clicked it. Another box popped up. 'Are you sure?'

Damien clicked '[Yes]'

The command prompts disappeared, then another tab opened. 'Welcome to the war. Please connect your phone and download the Servant App.' Damien cocked and eyebrow. "Servant App? Like in the game? Okay then..."

'App Downloaded. Installed on phone. Please switch to phone to continue setup.' Damien unplugged the phone from the computer and checked the screen. There was a new app on the main screen, with the Type-MOON logo as its icon. He tapped the app.

'Welcome to the servant program. Connecting to the network.' The phone hummed in his hand as it worked. Damien assumed it was connecting to his internet to access this 'network', and a few seconds later, the screen popped up with what appeared to be a stat readout.

'Selecting Template from those left. Processing. Template selected. Number 7, Class: Saber.' Damien's breath caught in his throat. Number 7? He was the last person to sign up? He glanced back down at the phone which now had the screen split between the stat readout, which was still blank, and a card with 'Saber' written at the top of it. Rotating his phone, the screen shifted, allowing him to read the card easier.

[Saber]

One of the three knight classes. Characterized by wielding a sword, the class grants high magic resistance and an increase in most stats. Regarded as the strongest class, though that cannot compensate for a weak servant or master.'

Damien sat back, staring at the screen. "Huh," he scratched his head thoughtfully. "It is very similar to the game. Interesting. I wonder how this will work. Are we going to connect the phones to each other like Tamagotchi and have the servants fight it out?" He mused. Turning back to the computer, he saw new instructions had appeared.

'Once the app is installed and a class selected, simply scan a work with the phone. The network will then process the material, select a character appropriate to your class, and generate your servant.'

Damien nodded. "Yep. Totally a Tamagotchi. Oh well, lets see... what would make a good servant..." Damien stood up and walked over to his bookcases. Browsing through the anime, manga, and video games he had collected there, he pulled out a copy of YuYu Hakusho. 'Hey, I have the Saber class, right? Maybe I'll get Hiei. He's pretty cool.' Damien held the phone up to the cover of the work, and thumbed the button at the bottom of the servant card labeled [Scan]

'Are you sure you want t-' "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure" Damien tapped the screen to hurry up the prompt. The phone began to hum again, and the screen popped up an image of the book cover. The cover then disappeared, and a progress bar appeared on the screen, while a voice announced "Work selected. Processing characters." The progress bar quickly filled up, and the voice returned "Characters processed. Filtering by class."

Damien tapped his foot, intrigued by the phone. 'Huh, this is pretty detailed. I wonder how much it cost to make these phones?' "Characters filtered. Selecting character." Damien's eyes were dragged back to the screen. The voice chirped again. "Character selected. Beginning summoning."

Instantly, the phone grew hot in Damien's hand. The screen flared, becoming a blinding white as the the phones quiet humming increased in volume. Damien gasped, dropping the phone and stumbling back into the computer chair, falling over onto his ass. As he struggled to sit up, he shielded his eys from the increasing glow. Soon, the entire room was engulfed in the brightness, before a small voice chirped in the middle of the hum "Summoning Complete"

There was a flash, and the glow instantly vanished. Almost blind, Damien blinked, trying to regain his vision. As his vision cleared, Damien could make out an individual standing over the spot where he had dropped the phone. Squinting, he barely made out a young man, about six feet tall, wearing a long white overcoat. As his eyes finally cleared, he was able to make out the individuals face. He had a tough looking appearance, like a thug, and his hair was reddish-orange, styled in the shape of a Pompadour. He wasn't wearing a shirt, instead having bandages wrapped around his lower torso. His pants were white, tucked into black jackboots. To complete his ensemble, he had a white headband wrapped around his head and tied behind his head, with its long ends hanging down his back.

As Damien stared, the man turned towards him, before extending a hand and grinning. "Yo! So, I guess you're my master?"

* * *

"Alright, lets go over this one more time" Damien sat on his computer chair, rubbing his head with is left hand while his right tapped his phone against his knee.

"Sure thing, boss." The man seated across from him grinned again, an expression that looked extremely goof on his face.

"You," Damien pointed at the man "Claim to have been summoned by me to participate in something called the Ani-Grail. Which is a competition mirroring the Fate/Stay Night Holy Grail War, but only, instead of real people, it uses Anime character."

"Pretty much. The rules popped into my head after you summoned me. Its pretty straight forward."

"Yes. These rules." Damien ticked off his fingers. "One: If the cellphone is destroyed, you are eliminated. Two: If your servant is killed, you are eliminated. Three: The winner is the last man standing" Damien paused, then continued "So, the gist of it is, you and I will be fighting together against a bunch of other people, and we will be attempting to murder them to win this competition?"

The man shifted uncomfortably "Sorta. It did say we could just destroy the cellphones, so that's an option."

"Indeed. But their cellphones will be guarded by servants like yourself. So, yeah, don't see that happening." Damien shook his head. What had he gotten himself into.

the man stood up. "Well, don't worry. you got me as your servant, so we'll definitely win!" The man smiled again, and gave a thumbs up sign. Damien looked at him, and tried to stifle a laugh.

"Alright, fair point. I wont underestimate you. So, whats our plan?"

The man in white shifted. "Hmm, well, I can sense three other servants in the nearby area. If you want I could try to get a pin on them."

Damien looked up at the man in white "Three already? And I was the last one to summon a servant. That isn't good." The man nodded. Damien sighed "Alright. Well, I think we should get some sleep for tonight. We can walk around town tomorrow and you can get your bearings. Sound good?"

The man in white nodded "You're the boss, boss. We can also try to find out who else is hanging around."

"Yeah. One last thing. While we're out, I should refer to you as Saber, since its your class and I don't want to give away your abilities."

The man in w- Saber nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

"That said," Damien continued, "I have a good guess as to who you are, but I need to confirm it. What is your real name?"

Saber told him.

* * *

(Author's Note)

Argh, that was the longest I've written in a while. Okay, a few things to address:

1) I know Fuyuki city isn't real. But it will remain the location of the battle, since I can use its layout as a reference, and it provides a common gorund for those familiar with the work.

2) If you want to leave a review, please do. This is a work in progress, and I need feedback to make it better. I am rather inexperienced at writing, and to improve, I want criticism ad comments.

3) If you have a suggestion for a servant, I am taking contributions. While I have a list of potential servants, feel free to leave comments suggesting possible characters. If they are better than what I was going to use, I'll include them instead, AND I'll give a shout out for everyone who suggested that servant down here in the Author's note.

With that said, I'm off. Post another chapter soon.


	2. Chapter 2 - Day 1

First, let me just say thank you for the comments I have gotten. They have given me a ton of ideas, and its great to know that people enjoyed the work.

Second, I am still taking suggestions. Probably will continue until I've written all the characters into the story. So feel free to leave ideas.

Oh, and I don't own any of the works mentioned in this story, or characters from series pulled from. They are all owned by their respective owners, so go read their works, because they're really good!

* * *

"Hey, Saber, can I ask you something?"

Saber glanced down at the kid by his side. He appeared to be about 17, with wild black hair and a slouched posture of the typical teenager. His clothing was a grey t-shirt under a long sleeved white button up shirt, undone down the front. He was wearing black jeans, and was staring intently at the small black box in his hands.

A small voice whispered in the back of Saber's head, correcting him. Cellphone. Huh, he'd never get used to the idea that a box that tiny was a cellphone. Glancing around, he took in the street, looking at the busy sidewalks as people bustled around, doing their weekend shopping, meeting up with friends, or just getting a bite to eat. Every now and then, a car drove past, looking sleek and polished, and he kept seeing a wide variety of electronics, either in the possession of passerby's, or through the storefronts they passed.

Every now and again, the little voice in his head would whisper a name or description of whatever he was looking at. He absentmindedly scratched his head, before looking back at the kid, who was staring at him.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Boss. Just a lot to take in." Saber shrugged, his lips curving into a small smile as he continued to glance around.

"That overwhelming? But I thought you came from a world very similar to this one?" The kid cocked an eyebrow, staring at Saber and making him uncomfortable.

"Well, yeah, but... what year is it?" Saber glanced away from the kid, tugging at the collar of his white Hoodie.

"Its 20XX" The kid put the bo- Cellphone back into his pocket, then reached up and pushed some of his hair out of his eyes, before leaning his head back to stare up at the sun going down behind the forest to the west of town. They had been out for most of the day, letting Saber get his bearings of the town.

"Gah, its been that long?" The kid looked up at Saber, who had stepped back in surprise. Quickly, he attempted to compose himself, and clearing his throat before continuing, "In my own world, we're roughly twenty years behind yours. That's why I was a little shocked by how much technology has advanced."

"I see. It's still hard to believe, that there exist alternate worlds, where people with powers really existed. Its even harder to believe that these phones are able to summon them to this world to fight." The kid glanced down the street, a far away look in his eyes. Saber nodded sagely.

"Yeah. What was surprising to me was that the records of our worlds are recorded here in anime and manga. Pretty hard to believe."

"Its all pretty crazy and unbelievable. But, this is reality, so I guess I better enjoy it." The kid stuck his hands into his pockets, a soft breeze kicking up to tug at the pedestrians clothes and hairs. Turning his back to the wind, the sun caught him on the side, casting half of his face into shadow. "Anyway, Saber. Have you gotten your bearings?"

Saber nodded. "Yeah. Also..." He paused, turning slightly to the left, and glancing back down the street they were on. The kids eyes followed his, till he caught sight of a bench in front of a coffee shop. A girl was sitting on the bench, wearing a pair of headphones and swinging her legs to the rhythm of whatever she was listening to. Her hair was a dulled bronze, she appeared to be wearing a grey school uniform, though it was difficult to make out over the distance.

"We're being followed." Saber watched as the boy's eyes narrowed.

"How long?"

"About half an hour now. They've stayed about the same distance the entire time, so I was considering not telling you but..." Saber glanced up towards the sun, which had sunk even lower in the sky. "It'll be dark soon. Perfect for an ambush."

The kid nodded. "Yeah. That's probably what they're waiting for. Come on, lets go wait for them." He turned, and began to walk along the street again, weaving through the people still out this late.

"Hey, Damien!" Saber called out as he pushed after his master. "Where we head?"

The kid turned towards Saber, and grinned "Where else? The park."

* * *

Damien blew across his hands, rubbing them together to try and generate the heat. The sun had slipped below the treeline, and the sky was rapidly darkening, bringing with it the cold touch of night. It was still winter, despite the deceptively warm day that they had had, and Damien was regretting not wearing a thicker jacket. Regardless, he braced himself against the oncoming chill, and hunched over on his seat on the edge of the water fountain.

"Hey, Boss. Why are we here?" Damien glanced up at Saber. Contrary to what he had been wearing last night, Damien had given him a white Hoodie and a pair of jeans to wear when they went out. Apart from being a little short, Saber looked like an average punk highschooler, which was the perfect disguise.

"Well, you know the fight that we're in?" Saber nodded, and Damien continued. "Its based on a game called Fate/Stay Night, which is set in this city of Fuyuki. In the game, the park was destroyed in the fourth war, and this area was burned to the ground, scaring it for years to come"

Saber shivered. "Sounds unpleasant. So, why are WE here then?"

"Because." Damien stood up, stretching to warm up his muscles and get the blood flowing. "In this world, there was no fire." He gestured at the park, which was filled with the quiet sounds of creatures settling in for the night, the rustle of bushes and grass as the wind swept across the field, and the quiet gurgling of the fountain behind them.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Saber scratched his head, giving Damien a puzzled look.

"He wants to reenact the scene from the prologue, where the hero and one of the heroins pass by each other unwittingly." A soft voice came from the other side of the fountain. Both men turned, to see the girl from before standing on the other side of the trickling water. She was indeed wearing a grey uniform, with a white blouse and grey vest over it. Her legs were covered by knee high stockings and grey dress shoes, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail behind her head, reaching down past her neck and towards her lower back. Her eyes were a deep green, like forest moss, with the eyelids hanging down as if she was half asleep, or extremely bored. She continued, "Its rather romantic, if futile. I give you props for trying."

"Heh. I was thinking it would be a fitting place for the start of the war, Blondie. SO, why'd you single us out?" Damien tried to calm himself, but the moment the girl had appeared, every nerve in his body had ignited, screaming for him to run. He sensed danger from her, or more specifically, whomever was with her.

"Please. My name is Evangeline Odle, not 'Blondie'. Are you not part of this game?" The girl called Evangeline reached into a pocket on her skirt, and pulled out the smooth black case of a phone. "If so, then that is reason enough for us to seek you out. To see if you are strong, or..." She snapped her fingers, and a person blinked into existence behind her, a tall woman with blue spiky hair and odd, square ears. She was wearing a long green dress, with an open front that overlapped at knee height, and large poofy shoulders that tapered into long sleeves at the elbow. Over that she had a pink vest on, with a black belt clasped around her midsection, binding the outfit closed. She looked like a reject from a retro space dinner, but the power pouring off her set Damien's teeth on edge.

"... if you will simply cease to exist." The woman finished, her mouth twisting into a grin that bared teeth with overly sharp canines. She and Evangeline began to walk around the side of the fountain towards Saber and Damien.

"Boss." Damien glanced over at Saber, who had his eyes fixed on the approaching woman. "I can't hit a lady. Its against my code."

"Reeeaaalllyyy?" The blue haired woman stretched out the world, rolling it around her mouth, savoring it. "Now, that's just to bad. Shame I don't have any such qualms." She held out her hand, and a bright flash lit up the park for a second. When it faded, the woman was holding a glowing beam of light, just under a meter long, that pulsed softly. She swung the light like a blade, testing it with a few swings before bringing it to rest at her side as she continued to advance towards the two. Her master stopped, and sat down on a park bench, crossing her legs as she watched.

"Well, don't worry about it man. We can still run if you feel uncomfortable about fighting her." Inside his head, Damien rapidly scrambled to find a way out. He had an inkling as to who the person in front of them was, and it want good. Their chances of running away were slim, but if Saber wouldn't fight...

"Hey. That's not what I said." Damien's head snapped up. Saber was now grinning ear to ear at the sight of the woman's light blade. "I said I couldn't hit a woman. If she's going to use a sword..." Saber held out his right hand. The air crackled around it, then pulsed as Saber gritted his teeth. With another bright flash, a crackling blast of energy shot out of Sabers palm, which he grasped, forming a hilt above his hand as the energy shifted itself into a sword shape. As he swung it, it hissed and crackled, making the exact same sound as a lightsaber.

"Dude. That is awesome." Damien could feel his eyes tearing up as he gazed at the energy sword grasped in Saber's hand. "You sure you can take her?"

"Guess we'll find out." With that, Saber dashed forward. He accelerated from standing to a mad dash forward in under a second, closing the distance with the blue haired woman as he swung the energy sword up over his shoulder like a baseball bat. As he charged, his clothes shimmered, and his white overcoat reappeared, along with the rest of his outfit from the night before. His headband blurred behind him, leaving streaks as the glow from the sword in his hand cut through the black that had fallen now that the sun was completely gone.

At the emergence of the Sword, the blue haired woman had stopped moving, surprised by the appearance of the crackling blade. As Saber charged, her eyes narrowed, and her face split into a grin as she brought the light blade up to meet his assault.

The two beams crashed into each other with a resounding hum, a vibration that set Damien's teeth rattling. Both sparked, crashing against each other as the two servants locked into a struggle, Saber on top, the blue haired woman on the bottom, both trying to force the other off. The park lit up at the impact, casting shadows as the two locked blades hissed and spat, the humming increasing as neither servant backed down. Just when Damien felt his teeth were about to disintegrate, the blue haired woman gave a shove, sending Saber flying back.

As he landed, Saber turned the fall into a roll, before sprinting forward again. Again he swung, and again the blades crashed, but eh woman had leaned form the first crossing of blades. Now, whenever her attacked, the woman turned Saber aside, knocking or deflecting his blade instead of locking it, sending Saber tumbling around the park time after time. However, each time he fell, he accelerated, picking up speed, until the center of the park was a whirl of swift parries and crashes, the air thrumming with energy released by the two servants crashing into each other again and again, a wave crashing into a dam.

Damien stared, awestruck. The amount of power that the two people in front of him were using was incredible, and each blow sent a shiver down his spine as the sparks flared, and the park lit again in the maelstrom of slashing and blocking. Wherever Saber stepped, rocks shattered from the speed at which he kicked off the ground, and the area around the woman was torn up from the force of the clashing blows. But, something began to bother him, as in the relentless assault, he noticed that the blue haired woman was smiling wider and wider as Saber began to look more and more harried.

"SABER!" Damien shouted, causing his servants head to snap up as he sprung back to land on his toes next to his master. "She's playing you. You're expending almost three times the energy she is in your attacks."

"Not to mention that I disarmed him three times during that scuffle." The woman casually flipped her hair with her free hand, before bringing her light blade backup into the ready position.

Damien was aghast. "Three times? I didn't even see it..."

"Yeah, they're scattered around the area now." Saber pointed to the remains of an energy sword sticking out of the ground about seven feet behind the woman, where it had landed point first in the ground. Another poked up at a 45 degree angle just two feet from the fountain, and another was lodged in a tree root about ten feet to the left. "Shes really good. A real swords-woman"

"Stop, you'll make me blush. Now," The woman's eyes narrowed, and her aura shifted, "Lets get serious." She blasted forward, accelerating just as fast as Saber had.

"Shit. Boss, stand back!" Saber pushed Damien away, knocking him on his backside as Saber leapt forward, his free hand sparking as he moved. When he collided with the woman, both hands rose to meet her, wielding identical swords, locking her single blade between them and forcing her back to the ground.

She gasped. "Hey! That's not fair!"

Saber grinned. "All's fair in War. Now..." He shoved, sending the woman back to her original spot. "Stay right there!" He threw out one hand, and the three buried swords shivered, before their ends burst out of the ground near the woman's feet, shooting up to impale her through her legs.

"What the...! You can remotely control your blades?" The woman winced as the blades stabbing through her legs shifted, biting deeper. Saber leapt forward, bring both swords up for an executioner's strike, aiming to take the woman's head.

"Rider"

Everyone froze as the soft voice cut thorough the air. Evangeline was sitting cross-legged, her head resting on the palm of her hand. "Stop playing with them."

The woman named Rider looked at her, then nodded. "Fine. You're no fun." She turned back to see Saber in front of her, both swords inbound for a meeting with her neck. "Oopsie. So close." Rider winked, then vanished. Saber's blades slashed through nothing, and he sprawled onto the ground, the air not giving any support to his unbalanced form.

"Still! I have to say, you did pretty well." Damien and Saber both looked up. Rider floated about thirty feet above their heads, left palm outstretched towards them. 'As my thanks, I'll make this quick." Her palm began to glow, before an orb of light materialized in her open hand. She casually swung her arm to bear in Damien's direction, before giving them a playful wink. "Bye~"

The light fired, becoming a laser directed towards Damien. "Oh, Sh-" He began, before the white light reached him, blowing him to the side as it crashed into the ground to his right, sending him flying. When he landed, he bounced several times, finally coming to rest on his stomach, grunting as the wind was knocked out of him.

As he scrambled to his feet, he felt the air tense behind him, and glanced back. Rider's hand glowed again, and another beam lashed out, striking down towards his unprotected back. Just as he felt he was about to bite it, Saber appeared, swinging both swords to intercept the beam.

The resulting clash lit up the park again, but the light continued, increasing in intensity as the laser of light slammed into Saber's swords, the energy roiling as Saber pumped more power into the blades, shaping them into a makeshift shield to block the beam. As it continued, the air began to heat up from the energy being released, and the humming from before returned, but much sharper as the swords vibrated even faster, trying to cope with the intensity of the beam.

"You're really something you know that? Never thought anyone would try to block one of my beams." Rider laughed, then looked back down. "I'll give you credit. You're determined. I like that." She raised her right hand. "So, try to block this." Her right palm flared, and dozens of miniature lasers rained down towards the two men.

Saber grunted, then swung his left arm out, reshaping his sword outside the beam. Instantly, the air grew even hotter, forcing him to his knees as he swung his left arm to deflect the shots, parrying the blasts into the ground, leaving scorched marks on the walkway as he blocked shot after shot. His right arm began to quiver as he deflected the final blast, then he swung his sword back into the laser, taking the brunt off his right side. His gaze traveled up the beams upwards to meet Rider's eyes. He gazed at her unflinchingly, even as the beam intensified.

"Okay. That was pretty cool." Rider grinned, then the beam shivered before going out. She floated back down to land beside Evangeline, stretching her arms over her head and smiling.

"Saber, you okay?" Damien moved from his crouched position behind Saber to beside him, only to see that a few of the blasts had gotten through. There were burn marks along the left side of Saber's chest, and one on his upper arm. Blood trickled down, splashing onto the ground in tiny droplets from cuts on his arm and face, caused by the pavement when it had shattered into chips.

"Heh, I'm fine.' Saber stood up a little shakily, but he used one of his swords to prop himself up. He lifted his free hand, calling back the energy invested into the swords he had lost, and it dissolved, flowing back into him in a crackling stream. "Now, what do you suppose they want?"

Damien glanced over to see Rider examining her legs. Apart from the cuts to the clothing she was wearing, and some bloodstains, there appeared to be no wounds left. 'That's extremely powerful regeneration. No doubt, this person is actually-'

"Alright. You pass." Damien's head snapped up. Evangeline had a small smile on her face. "You two appear to be strong. We look forward to fighting you again. So, don't die until then. Because..." She walked over before leaning over to whisper into their ears "... we will be the ones to win this war."

With that, she turned and walked away, Rider falling into step behind her, hands clasped behind her head, throwing a grin over her shoulder as they left, leaving behind the two of them to stare at their backs as they walked out into the darkness, leaving them in the middle of what had just been a battlefield.

"Hey, Saber?"

"Yeah?"

"We got off lucky, didn't we?"

"Yeah. They could have crushed us. But next time," Saber clapped a hand onto Damien's shoulder. "Next time, we'll be ready for them. Now..." He collapsed to his knees. "Could you help me back to the house? I appear to be unable to walk."

Damien stared at him, then began to laugh. 'We are so doomed.' He said as he slung one of Saber's arms over his shoulder.

"Yeah. But we're doomed together." The two of them laughed together as they made their way out of the park, and onwards towards home.

* * *

(Author's Note)

Like I said in the last post, longest thing I've written in awhile. Hope it doesn't read to horribly...

Ah, and to address some questions: No, this isn't Megaman. I'm using 20XX cause its set around our time era, but I want a little leeway with not having to tie the story to a fixed time. Also, this means I can use any work, since if I set the time to say, 2010, then I couldn't use something that had come out in 2013 (Well, I could... but it wouldn't make sense.)

Another thing! If you guys want to take guesses as to who the servants are, that would be cool. Once I reveal a servants name in the story, I'll include a little stat blurb down here at the bottom, with their stats, skills and Noble Phantasm(s). Till then, feel free to speculate.

Final note! I am always a fan of criticism. If you feel I messed upon something, please tell me. I'll see if I can fix it, or if I can correct it in the future. I want to get better as a writer, so lay it on me. I can take it.

Till next chapter. See ya.


	3. Chapter 3 - Night 1 (Part 1)

Alright, some things:

First, I have been really lazy, and haven't written much of anything for two weeks. That was dumb of me, cause I just started a story, then let it stagnate. So, to remedy that, here is a day's worth of writing, in a couple of chapters... update... things. Yeah.

Second, I am still taking feedback on the story. Those who have commented, thank you. It gave me a lot of ideas to work with, and I appreciate it. I also would like to hear any criticisms, problems, etc. I can't get better if I don't know when I screwed up.

So anyway, that out of the way, here is an update. Enjoy.

* * *

**NIGHT [1]**

* * *

"Ah, that was a good fight."

Evangeline glanced up at the blue haired woman beside her. Rider was smiling, hands behind her head, totally relaxed, her eyes were closed as she walked beside Eva. Eva raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so happy? They barely passed the test."

"Nah, that guy was holding back." Rider brought her hands down to her hips as she began to laugh. "He didn't even use any special moves, and he was able to block one of my lasers. THAT was pretty impressive."

Eva's eyebrow raised even more "Then he's an idiot. Why would he hold back in this fight?"

Rider shrugged, opening her eyes. "You heard him. Probably that stupid code he mentioned. I don't claim to understand you humans and your qu-" Rider froze where she was, head snapping to the left. She stared off into the now dark sky, glancing back at the park.

Eva stopped as well, looking at Rider. The previously emotionless expression she had been wearing shifted into a nervous one. "What? What is it?"

Rider continued staring for a moment, then shook her head, face splitting into a grin. "Nothing, nothing. Thought I sensed someone, but it was just those two limping away." Her eyes darkened, growing more serious. "Speaking of, are you sure about letting them go?"

"Yes.' Eva nodded, moving forward again. "Since we let them go after such a strong performance, that will leave them in debt to us. Which we can take advantage of later if we need to force them to become our allies."

Rider nodded, clapping a hand on Eva's shoulder "Heh, I'd expect nothing less of my Master! You certainly play the role of ice-cold beauty to a T! Even I was impressed by your performance"

Eva colored, blushing at Rider's words. "Its the only way we have a chance! I'll wear whatever mask I have to to win this-!" She began hotly, glaring at Rider before she started coughing. It was a low, racking cough, that shook her frame and made her pause and steady herself against a nearby streetlamp. When the fit stopped, her breathing remained ragged as she fought to catch her breath.

"Alright, alright. I understand." Rider crouched down next to Eva, then jerked her head towards her back. "Climb on. I'll give you a ride home, 'My Lady'." Her lips curled into a smirk, but her eyes remained serious.

Eva looked like she was about to reject the offer, but then sighed, defeated. "Fine, you win. I'm only doing it because its more convenient."

"Sure thing, Master." Eva clambered onto Rider's back, wrapping her arms around Rider's neck for support. As she clung there, the older woman put her hands behind her back to support Eva's weight, then set off down the street.

As time passed, Eva's breathing eased, and the slight jostling from Rider's pace began to lull her to sleep. "Hey... Rider...?" Eva's voice was quieter than before, causing Rider to glance back into her face. Eva's face was pressed into Rider's neck, her eyes half closed as she hung on to the blue haired woman. "I'm sorry I'm not a better master."

Rider stared at her, then her face broke into a grin again "Nah, you're alright. Don't worry about that sort of thing." Grinning, she picked up the pace a little, then kicked off from the ground. Instead of falling, she continued to rise into the air, until she was a good fifty feet above the ground. Leaning forward, she continued to move forward, flying silently over the empty street.

"Lets head home, Master."

* * *

Rider drifted alongside the river, the lights from streetlamps and porch-lights below making the streets sparkle. A brisk wind blew through her clothing, and she shivered. Rider wished she was wearing thicker clothing instead of her battle gear, but it didn't matter, as she could see the western style house district where Eva lived.

On her back, Eva's body rose and fell as she quietly slept, her arms wrapped tightly around Rider as the two flew along. Rider glanced back, and saw that the girls blonde hair had turned white under the pale moonlight that peeked out from behind the clouds. As a particularly cold gust blew past, Eva mumbled, clinging tighter to Rider's back for warmth.

"Hey, don't worry, we're almost home." Rider said softly to the sleeping girl as she began to descend, finally touching down on one of the streets, about a block from Eva's house.

As Rider walked down the quiet streets, she shifted the small girl on her back, trying not to wake her up. Her Master had forced herself to come out here tonight, and she wanted to get her home as quickly as possible. Accelerating, Rider moved briskly towards the intersection up ahead, walking past the homes that bordered the street with dark windows. The only light came from the streetlamps and the occasional glimpse of the moon through the cloudy mass moving across the sky

Upon turning the corner, Rider spotted the residence that Eva called home. It was a two story building, built in the western style, like all the others in the area. Eva had mentioned something about inheriting the place from a relative, but Rider hadn't been paying to much attention at the time. As she walked towards the building, she took in the brick and stone construction, surrounded by a wall that separated the building from the outside world. In the center of the wall, a trellis archway covered in creeper vines stood, with a stone path leading up to the wooden steps into the building. Under the archway, a man dressed in black, and the rose bushes planted around the-

Rider stopped. Standing under the archway was indeed a young man dressed in a black uniform, resembling the classical Japanese school uniform: Black over coat, buttoned up the front, with buttons on the cuffs, a white inner lining and undershirt, straight black slacks covering his legs, and black dress shoes on his feet. He stood against one of the archways, hands in his pockets, eyes closed as he gazed up at the night sky. He somehow appeared to stare endlessly into the cloudy void overhead despite his eyes remaining shut.

A shiver ran down Riders back as the man's head came down, and he turned toward them. When he opened his eyes, she saw that the Iris was completely black, mixing with the pupil to create a pitch black hole in a sea of white. Upon seeing Rider standing at the end of the street, the strange man smiled. As he moved out of the archway, the wind tugged at his clothing, making it billow gently. His limp black hair stubbornly clung to his head, refusing to be ruffled by the soft breeze.

Another shiver passed down Rider's back, but this one was of fear. She hadn't even detected the boy's presence as she had approached the house. Granted, she didn't have a very strong affinity for sensing people before, and her class didn't grant her any improvements to it, but she prided herself on being able to detect when someone was closing in on her. As the boy continued to walk slowly towards her, Rider noticed that he had a weird gait, and his arms didn't bend as he swung them by his side. Yet another shiver ran down her spine.

As the distance between the two of them shrank, Rider felt her limbs began to quake with a repressed urge - to move - to move away from, to run as far away form this person, who had appeared before her without even setting off her instincts. Shuddering, she stood her ground and watched as the young man finally stopped, a little over five feet from her. He raised his right hand and waved, smiling widely as he opened his mouth

"[Hello!]" The young mans voice sounded... wrong. Rider felt suddenly ill as the young man continued talking, "[It was such a pleasant day today, I felt I just had to go for a walk. What a happy coincidence running into you two while I was out.]"

The man was obviously lying. He had been waiting for the two of them, and Rider shifted her stance ever so slightly, preparing herself if she needed to move. While she didn't sense any hostility from the man, his voice set her teeth on edge, and the ill feeling inside her grew stronger. She shook her head, trying to clear it as he continued "[Well, that wasn't true. I was looking for you, as well as the other five. So, how are you doing Rider-chan?]"

She started. So this boy-! He had been looking for her, and the other servants, so he must also have been one. The smile he wore now seemed stretched, a mask that sat on his face, covering every other emotion. He moved forward again, closing the distance to a few feet, and leaned in, still smiling. "[Just between you and me, Rider-chan, I am looking forward to this game very much. So many interesting people...]" His eyes slid off of Riders face to the sleeping girl on her shoulder's "[... and so many cute Master's as well.]"

His smile hadn't dimmed, nor had his mask slipped, but Rider could detect the meaning in his words, the threat that he had let slip so casually. This boy before her seemed like he could kill her as easily as he breathed. Wordlessly, she lashed out, one arm aiming right for where his head was, but the boy moved again. He slid under Rider's arm, slipping through her guard and closing the last few steps between them in a second. As Rider began to recoil, he leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. He then whispered "[You know, older women are just as cute. I think you'd look good in a naked apron]"

Rider leaped back, gaining at least fifteen feet in a single bound. Her arm held in front of her, she summoned up a ball of energy. It grew until it was the size of a baseball, white light spilling out from between her fingertips. "Just who the hell are you?" She yelled at the boy, who stood in the same spot as before, gazing at the orb in her hand with unconcerned eyes.

"[Ah! I appear to have forgot to introduce myself]" The boy tapped his right fist on his open left palm, acting surprised. "[How rude of me. I am Assassin! Pleased to meet you.]"

At the pronouncement of his class, Rider's already heightened nerves began to run into overdrive. In the back of her mind, information began to flow into her, informing her of the class just mentioned. Assassin... the class with the ability to completely suppress their presence, to evade detection with ease, and the ones most suited for silently killing their targets. Cold sweat broke out on Rider's skin. Silently killing... yet he had approached her head on. This guy...

"[Sorry, I lied again. I'm actually Lancer.]" The boy tilted his head to the side, his smile just as wide as before. Rider lurched, startled. He had lied about his class, then admitted it just a second later. More so, Lancer! Lancer, one of the three knight classes. Said to be the fastest class, this boy...? Realizing the disadvantage she was at while carrying her master, Rider began to edge backwards, searching for an escape route. Lancer, or Assassin, she couldn't take this man on in her current state.

"[Ah, don't run. I'm not here to fight. More so, I cant fight.]" The boy with the dishonest face said, smiling again. "[My master has ordered me to observe the other contestants. When I saw that one of them was such a beautiful lady, with such a cute master, I couldn't resist saying hello.]"

That said, the boy put his hand in his pockets and turned around. Calling out over his shoulder as he walked down the street to the left of Eva's house, he said "[Oh, and I already meet someone else. He seems really strong! Maybe we'll be joining together in the future to fight him? Or maybe...]" The boy looked over his shoulder, and for a second, the mask fell away. The eye that stared back at Rider was deeper and darker than an abyss, and she could sense the a great welling of emotion inside the previously empty frame. Anger, loathing, disgust, envy, frustration, sadness... the onslaught of emotions went on and on. Just that glance made Riders shivering increase, until her entire body was shivering like a leaf. The boys mouth opened, and from it came his voice, lacking any of the falseness from before.

"... maybe I'll kill you before then." His voice which had lost its fake quality, now sounded hard and harsh, cutting through the air like a knife. More so than the obvious dishonesty his words had held before, now his voice held a direct threat, a promise. He was serious, and the air around him darkened, a black shadow seeming to wrap itself around him. The darkness of the night was drawn towards this man's greater darkness, a void that even shadows were swept into.

And just as quick, it was over. The black aura dispersed, the mask returned, and the boy shot a cheery smile in Rider's direction. "[Kiiidddiiinnngg! See you later, Rider-chan!]" Then we disappeared into the inky night, waving with his left hand as he was swallowed up by the darkness beyond the streetlights.

Rider realized she was shivering, and the cold sweat from before hadn't stopped. That boy... whoever he was, she felt that he was seriously bad news. She hadn't been able to get a grasp of his power from their encounter, and his lack of a presence worried her. If he was Assassin, then that would explain his lack of a presence, but if he was actually Lancer...

Rider found herself wishing fervently that she never encountered that boy again. The orb of light in her hands dwindled to nothing as she felt herself beginning to relax, and she moved down the street. As she crossed under the archway, the remaining threatening feelings she had felt from the boy evaporated, though she kept a watchful eye out. Retrieving the key to the front door from under a potted plant on the front step, Rider unlocked the door and entered the house.

* * *

(Author's Note)

Phew, you would not believe how long it took me to write this. I actual wrote the next chapter before this one, but held off on posting it since I felt I wanted to write something that took place in between. Then I got a horrible case of writers block.

I finally managed to nail down where I wanted to take the story today, and slammed out this piece. While the creative mood is on me, I post up the next section, and maybe another chapter? I dunno. Phew, after two weeks, feels good to get some writing done.

And with this, there is another servant introduced. Am I introducing them to fast? I don't know. If you would like it to slow down, or speed up, give me some feedback. Also, if I was not able to portray the new servant properly, I am sorry. His personality is really hard to write. I will try to get better.

Thanks to everyone for their support. Next post coming soon.


	4. Chapter 4 - Night 1 (Part 2)

WHEW! This took a while to write. I kept going back and forth on what I wanted to convey, how to convey it, etc. I'm still not entirely satisfied, but it will do. Oh, and a note of warning: I will be using character from other works, so bear in mind that there may be spoilers for the stories that I pull from. I apologize for this, but I really cant think of any way to get around it. That said, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

**NIGHT [1]**

* * *

Saber panted. Every breath was painful, a chore to put one leg in front of the other as his vision swam from exhaustion. His bones ached after his little stunt, the vibration from the fight echoing through his muscles, causing them to spasm every now and then. He gritted his teeth against the pain, and tried to keep moving forward. He would have fallen without the support of the person next to him.

"Hey, Saber, how are you holding up?" Saber looked over at the kid half carrying, half dragging him down the street. He looked about as terrible as Saber felt. Damien's clothing was covered in dirt, and the right side of his jacket was singed from where the laser had caught it. His face had a nicely swelling bruise from where his face had hit the ground. He looked a wreck, but he kept moving forward.

"Not great. I've been better, but I've also been worse." Saber replied, wincing as the bones in his legs creaked as he put weight on them. The power he had obtained by becoming a servant was incredible, but even with his enhanced body, he had only been an above average human in his world. Fighting against the person called 'Rider' had been brutal, and she very clearly outclassed him in terms of power.

Though, now that he thought about his own world, he could probably have a decent match with that Runt now, if he ever saw him again...

"Alright, we're almost home" Damien's words cut through Saber's thoughts, and he shook his head. He'd reminisce about his team later. Now, he had to focus on helping his master win the war.

The two walked down the street, approaching the simple two floor house that Damien and his Sister shared. Damien had explained that his parents were away for several weeks on business, so they had the place to themselves.

"Ah, right. We need to explain what you're doing here to my sister." Saber glanced at his master again. The boy had a faint look of concern on his face, and he was beginning to sweat. "For that matter, we need to explain what happened. Otherwise..." Damien's breathing turned shallow, and he got a far away look in his eyes "... she's liable to kill us."

"Heh, sounds like my sister." Saber laughed. "Look, we can just say that we fell down a cliff. You certainly look the part."

"Bah, that wont work. She can smell lies. We need to think of a better story..." The two of them reached the edge of the yard, and began to make their way towards the door. Suddenly, Saber stiffened, sensing a foreign energy within the house. He stopped moving, pulling Damien to a halt

"Hey, Boss." The kid glanced over, concerned by the tone of Saber's voice. "I didn't notice before, since most of my energy is being used to speed up my recovery. But I can sense someone inside the house. Another servant."

"What?!" Damien began to panic, glancing nervously around. "But we cant fight another one! Look at the state you're in! What do we do?"

Saber looked at the door, then back at Damien. "Eh, its no use. If it took me this long to sense them, then they most likely have known we've been coming for a while. If they wanted to attack, they would have." He scratched his head with his free hand, wincing as his shoulder muscles protested. "My opinion? We go inside and see what they want."

The kid chewed his lip for a minute, then nodded. "Right. Guess we have to go."

* * *

Damien pushed open the front door "Sis? I'm home!" He called out, dragging Saber through the door frame, then kicking the door shut behind them.

Inside the entry, they could see the stairwell to the upper floor, and the glow from a light to the living room.

"Ah, Damien?" Iza poked her head out into the hallway. "You have a visi- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Iza's face had been calm, but it shifted to worried rage at the sight of her brother and a stranger both beat to hell and standing awkwardly in the entrance to the house.

"Eheheh, look, I can explain..." Damien started, before he was cut off by the appearance of another person behind his sister.

The man was fairly tall, with black hair that hung in front of his face in two large bangs. The center of his eyes were pure black, and it took Damien a second to realize that he did in fact have an iris around his pupil. He had lines on his face, but he appeared quite young. The man was wearing a black suit, with a grey undershirt, buttoned up to the collar, with black slacks and black dress shoes. Even his tie was black, though was some color diversity, as Damien realized that at the bottom of the tie were two bands of red clouds, circling the widest part of the tie.

"Ms. Grey, is something wro- oh, my." The man took in the two standing in the doorway, then reached over and tapped Iza on the shoulder, startling her out of her upset rage. "Ms. Grey, can you go get some bandages for your brother and his friend? They appear to be injured."

Iza stared at the man for a second, before suddenly understanding what he asked. "Ah, of course, Ita-San." She replied before heading up the stairwell.

Damien was also staring at the man. "Ita-san?" He asked, puzzled.

The man turned towards the two. "Yes. I apologize for deceiving your sister, but she has no need to be involved. Please, come into the living room." He moved back from the hallway, and Damien followed, lugging Saber with him.

In the living room, the man took a seat in a grey chair near the fireplace on the far wall of the room. Damien, meanwhile, lay Saber down on a couch opposite from the fire, next to a wooden coffee table. Straightening, he turned to the man, locking eyes with him. "So, what do we this visit to, Mr. Servant."

The man's eyes held a hint of humor as he rested his chin on his hand, relaxing into the chair . "Hmm, it appears you know what I am, so it is pointless to hide it." The man swung one leg over the other, and returned Damien's gaze. "As you correctly guessed, I am indeed a servant. I was summoned as Caster. A pleasure to meet you, Master of Saber."

Damien's teeth ground together, his entire body tensing as the air in the room grew colder after the man's announcement. "Huh. I had really hopped I was wrong." Damien attempted to sound relaxed, but found he couldn't, so he crossed his arms and leaned against the edge of the couch. "Well, if you're here I suppose we should hear you out. What is it you want, Caster?"

"Please, no need to rush things. But, if you insist." Caster politely laughed, but there was no humor behind his words. He opened his eyes, and resumed staring at Damien "I have been ordered to approach the other contestants in this game, and give them a choice. You are the third person I have visited."

Saber attempted to prop himself up, but eventually gave up and lay there, looking at Caster. "The third? So you've already met two other pairs?"

"Yes. They were very strong, but I was able to deliver my message." Caster's lips twitched into a humorless smile. "My Master gave me an order. And I will carry it out."

Damien shivered as the temperature seemed to drop another few degrees. "And, what is the message your master asked you to deliver?"

"My master seeks allies." Caster spread his hands, assuming a pleading pose, though his eyes didn't change. "They present two options. A, you ally with us, and we work together to defeat the other pairs, or B..." Caster's eyes slid off Damien's face towards the hallway, staring at the foot of the stairwell "... well, you wouldn't like B."

The hairs on Damien's neck bristled, his nails biting into his arms as he clenched his fists in anger. "Is that a threat?"

"No. Its a promise. Besides, the most my Master is asking as an ally is that you stay out of our way, and do not interfere with our plans." Caster's eyes refocused on Damien and Saber, taking them both in. The space seemed to bend between them, until his eyes seemed to fill the entire room, until they became the only thing Damien could focus on. "Surely that's not so hard, to just turn a blind eye to us, to not interfere?" Smaller eyes began to spill out of the larger ones, crawling over the walls, the floor, and the furniture as the moved to envelope the two sitting on the couch.

Damien felt he was drowning as the black depths of the eyes reached out to swallow him whole, the inky blackness surrounding him, his body growing increasingly heavy until he could barely keep himself upright. He slouched against the couch, which now resembled a peacock, covered by sightless black eyes that stared at him

"Not. So. Hard. Right?" Caster's words echoed around the room, louder than they should have been in the open space. Damien felt himself being constricted as the area around him pressed into a smaller and smaller space, those eyes constantly staring.

"T-that..." Damien gasped, struggling to breath as the air pressed against his chest, attempting to form the words that would end the terrible closeness. "Th-that's ri-"

"HEY! I found it!" Instantly, the room shattered, blackness raining down before dissolving in mid air. Damien jerked upright, sweat beading his skin as he sucked in a lungful of sweet air. Caster's face was impassive, but he seemed older than before. Wearily, he rested a hand across his eyes, before removing it and putting on a smile.

"Iza! You found the first aid kit?" Caster looked at Damien's sister, who entered the room carrying a bag with a red cross on it.

"Yep. Don't worry you two, I'll get you fixed up in a minute." Iza set to work, preparing a work space on the coffee table as Caster stood up.

"Well, I don't want to bother you anymore. Remember our chat, Damien. Oh." He paused beside Damien as he made his way to the door. Leaning down, he whispered into Damien's ear "You have a very lovely sister. Make sure nothing bad happens to her, hmm?" As Damien turned to glare at him, Caster just smiled, then continued walking. Everyone heard the front door open and shut, and then he was gone.

Instantly the room felt warmer, and Damien felt his tension begin to fade. He glanced at his sister, who was totally unaware of what had just transpired. She finished tending to a scrape on his hand that Damien hadn't noticed before, then turned to Saber. "So, who are you, and why did my Brother drag you in here?"

"Uh... um... I'm..." Saber faltered for words, floundering under Iza's stare.

"This is Saber. He's a friend from Nasu-Con I met when I went." Damien interjected, Saber's eyes wordlessly rejoicing as Iza's glaze turned on Damien.

"He was in town, and stopped by last night after dinner. We were going to hang out today, and... we fell down a cliff." Damien finished lamely, kicking himself that he hadn't had time to prepare a better cover story.

"Really?" Iza cocked her head to the side, her eyes probing Damien's face for any sign of dishonesty. "Well, that's to bad. Nice to meet you, Saber-San!" Turning back to him, Iza's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Now, take off your shirt so I can see if you're injured."

"What?" Saber went bright red, and tried to scramble back over the sofa, but Iza placed a hand on his chest and held him down. With his energy depleted, Saber struggled in vain to escape. Damien sighed in exasperation.

"Sis, do you need to torture my friends? And whats with the honorifics? It sounds weird."

"It sounds cute." Iza pouted, not an inch of her 'cute' as she forcefully restrained Saber from his desperate attempts to flee. "You're the Manga nerd, I'm surprised you don't use them more often."

"Because the Internet is cruel, and unforgiving to people who pretend to be Japanese. Hey, Saber, once shes finished with you, come on up to my room. I'll get you set up for the night."

"Boss! Don't leave me! Help!" Saber's cries echoed as Damien made his way to the stairway and went upstairs.

* * *

"I cant believe you left me to her." Saber stood over Damien, angrily ranting as the later lay his bed reading another takabon.

"Better you than me, man. If I had interfered, she would have beaten us, and then we would both be at her mercy." Damien flipped a page, then looked up at his servant. "You have my sympathy though. The pink kitty sweater is terribly itchy."

Saber glowered, dressed in gray sweat pants and a hideous pink sweater with a hello kitty face on the front. It was Iza's favorite torture outfit, and she had insisted he wear it while she washed his clothes to try and take the bloodstains out before they became permanent.

"I'm not forgetting this." Saber grouched, before moving over to sit on the computer chair, a sigh of relief as his muscles relaxed. "Gah, I hurt all over. I can't believe that woman was so powerful."

Damien nodded absentmindedly, flicking through the pages of his manga before he tossed it aside and grabbed the next volume from a pile beside his bed.

"What are you looking for?" Saber glanced at the huge stack of books, then at Damien's rapid skimming.

"I'm researching our opponents. I have a good idea who they were, and I want to confirm my suspicions."

"You recognized the girl from earlier? And Caster? Who are they?" Saber stood up and moved over to the bed, leaning over to look at the pages Damien was flipping through. They were filled with people in ninja clothes fighting each other, using something called 'chakra' power their special attacks.

"Huh. This series looks pretty good. But why did you say it was rea-" Saber stopped as Damien turned to look at him. "Oh, right. In this world, we exist as characters in manga. So, you think you can find those two if you look through your collection?"

Damien nodded. "Mine is pretty extensive. One of the perks of being a nerd, I guess." he sighed, turning to his bookcase, which was overflowing with magazines, takabons, DVD cases, and figurines. "Never thought my obsession with anime would help me in a life or death battle though. Seems a little surreal."

Saber nodded, picking up a takabon from the stack. "Here. I'll help you." He started flipping through the volume, then stopped. Looking up at Damien, he showed the page he had flipped to and pointed to the image.

In black and white, there was the man from earlier. He was dressed in a full body black coat, with red clouds around the bottom. It was open, revealing a gray shirt over a mesh vest, with one arm hanging out the opening. However, what Saber was pointing eyes was the image below, of an eye with three black chakrams swirling inside a red iris.

"That's the guy alright..." Saber continued to stare as Damien began to flip through another book he was holding. "Yeah. I was right. He's from that work, Naruto. Guess I'll need to do a little catching up tonight."

Damien sighed, looking depressed. "This situation just keeps getting worse and worse. Urgh, I cant believe we have to fight someone from the Big Three."

Saber closed the volume and tossed it on the looked through pile. "Well, its at least good that we identified the enemy, right Boss? Even if he's powerful, we now know who he is, and we can read up on him, can't we...?" He trailed off, seeing the look on Damien's face.

"No, it isn't." Damien sighed. "Just because we know who he is, and what work he is from, that isn't enough. The real challenge starts now. I have to re-read everything, find out what his powers might be, and even then, we don't know how the grail system will have changed him." Damien stood up and began to pace. "Dammit, that Caster! Was he planning this? Did he know that we would figure out who he was so easily?"

Saber sat down on the bed with a thump, listening aghast at what Damien described. "Well, we've accomplished the first step, haven't we? We know who he is. That's a start." Damien shook his head again.

"Its not that simple. Jeez, I'm not used to having to think this hard. Its like a really annoying video game, where you don't know half the rules, and the opponents are all invisible. That's what the grail war is." Grumbling to himself, Damien rubbed the back of his neck.

When he stopped, Damien looked over at Saber. "I think we have no choice but to accept his offer."

Saber stood up and grabbed Damien by the collar "What the hell man! How can you give up so easily? Do you not believe we can win?"

Damien knocked his hand away. "I want to believe we can, but this might not be such a bad thing. At the most, this looks like an agreement to not interfere with the other. If it gets more involved than that, we can break it off. And there's that girl from earlier, what do you think we're should do about her?"

"I don't know!" Saber replied "But I DO know that if we sit here feeling sorry for ourselves we can't win. We just have to put our heads together and eventually we'll be able to win."

Damien let out a sigh and flopped into the computer chair. "We are SO boned. Its not even funny man. Nothing is in our favor at all."

Saber stared at his master, then began to laugh. "Just like earlier, huh? When we barely escaped with our lives?" As Saber laughed, Damien just stared at him. "What, its funny! We're hopelessly outclassed. So what can we do?" Saber got close to Damien, grabbing him by the shoulder's "We can keep fighting. Believe me, you just have to take the punches, and keep getting back up, and eventually we'll find away to win."

The air around them seemed to increase in temperature. Damien felt a rush of energy pouring into him, flowing down from his shoulders to the rest of his body. He stared at Saber, who had the dumb goofy grin on his face again. Just looking at him, Damien felt a little better, and the negative emotions that had been forming in his head were blown away.

"Heh. I guess you're right." Damien shook Saber's hand from his shoulders, then caught it in his right hand. Saber hauled him out of the chair, and the two stared at each other across their clasped fists. "Alright. Lets do it. Lets win the war and kick the butts of anyone who gets in our way."

"Yeah." Saber nodded, the air temperature increasing even more as their confidences surged. "We'll beat them all, no matter how tough they are, right?"

"Of course we will!" Damien shouted, both of them fired up. "Just who the hell do you thi-"

It was at this moment that Iza burst into the room. "Will you two shut up! I'm trying to go to slee-" She stopped upon seeing the two of them holding hands, their intense stares broken by turning to look at her in the doorway.

"OH! Oh... oooohhh. I'm sorry to intrude.'Iza bowed her head before attempting to close the door.

"WAIT!" Both Saber and Damien leapt forward, grabbing the edges of the door frame and the door itself, holding them open as Iza continued trying to shut it.

"Whatever you're thinking right now, Sis, its wrong. Nothing is going on here." Damien managed to get out through gritted teeth as he struggled to leverage an arm through the door.

"Of course little Bro! Nothing at all. Ahahahaa. I'll just leave you and you're 'friend' to whatever you were doing."

"Don't put it in quotation marks!"

"Ms. Iza, nothing is going on. What are you attempting to imply!"

"Ahahaha. Nothing~"

""Don't say it like THAT!""

Their voices continued late into the night, eventually petering out before midnight. All the lights in the house shut off soon after, leaving only shadows stretching across the buildings.

* * *

In the darkness. the moon appeared from behind the clouds, a waxing gibbous, lighting up the street with pale beams that illuminated the outlines of the buildings, cutting the shadows into sharp outlines, forcing them back into defined shapes.

Across the street from the Grey's house, on top of another building, two figures stood, obscured by the shadows that clung to the backside of the chimney.

"Master. This is the residence of one of the servants. Do you want to attack tonight?" The voice was high pitched, the voice of a young girl. She shifted in the moonlight, revealing silver eyes that glanced at the figure to her right.

"No." The voice was deep and rich, full of authority, and lacking all warmth. It was a voice that made the listener want to obey, that instilled awe and fear in the listener, that broke their spirit and bound it to the speaker, making them little more than a puppet to be used. "We will not move tonight. We need to find the other player's first. And then..." Gold eyes flashed in the night, and the figure moved forward, moonlight catching a hauntingly beautiful face framed by golden locks swept back by a headband. A black bodysuit, covered by a yellow jacket, with a heart shaped belt. The man posed, reclining against the very air itself, as if the laws of the universe were a petty annoyance, and they existed to serve him, bending at his will.

"Yes master. Shall we retreat for now?" The girl moved forward, to stand beside the man, appearing to be a young child, about twelve, dressed in a Gothic maid uniform. Her hair was black, with a streak of silver in one half of her bangs, and she wore black lipstick. She turned her gaze to the man beside her, who grinned, revealing long canines. He ran a hand through his hair, lifting his face into the night air, savoring the feel of the moonlight on his face.

"Yes. Let us return to the Temple. We must prepare." He reached out with his left hand and wrapped it around the girl's waist, and in the next moment, they had vanished.

In the silence that followed, more clouds drifted across the moon, covering it from the world below, and returning the area to the shadows once more.

* * *

(Author's Note)

Agh, my fingers hurt. So much typing, so much rewriting. I must have edited and redrafted this chapter so many times, its not even funny.

But, with this, two more servants have made their appearances. One, in a direct confrontation. The other appears to be stalking the other servants. How will this lead out?

... I actually don't know. I still have to do some more planning. But yeah, I hope you guys enjoy this piece, I put a lot of effort into it. Any suggestions, comments, concerns, queries, or quips are appreciated. Blargh, I'm rambling again...

Well, there may be another post today. I'll see what I can draft up.


	5. Chapter 5 - Day 2 (Part 1)

Alright, taking a break from the overarching story, here's a short segment I wrote while still under the effects of inspiration. However, I can feel writers block creeping up on me again. Shame I only got three chapters out of it.

Oh well, hope you enjoy this section.

* * *

Eva stirred, feeling something pressing against her chest as she slept. As she tired to turn on her side, the weight remained, holding her down fast, preventing her from moving. Her brain slowly stirring, Eva began to panic as she realized that her body wouldn't respond, that the weight on her chest was unnatural.

Ready to descend into full blown panic, Eva's eyes snapped open as she glanced down and saw...

Her cat sitting on her chest. Eva stared into the bright green eyes of the grey and blue tortoiseshell tomcat, who lazily yawned and settled down on top of the blankets to take a nap. Eva stared for a moment, then pulled her hands out from under the blankets to move the cat, who gave her a reproachful meow before settling down next to her. Feeling the weight lifting from her chest allowed Eva to suck in a gulp of air, and the panic that had been building dissipated.

'Its not an attack' She thought, sitting up and pushing back the pink covers from her small frame. She glanced around, taking in the familiar sight of her room, from the white walls to the brown hard wood flooring, the computer on the desk in the corner quietly humming as it sat in sleep mode, and the posters plastering the walls of various Bands, Anime Conventions, and popular Anime series. It was the room of a total nerd, and Eva grudgingly moved her feet out from under the warm confines of the covers and onto the cold embrace of the floor.

Wincing at the chill that shot up her legs, Eva stood up and stretched, letting out the tension that been building in her muscles overnight. As she glanced back at her cat who was half covered by the blankets, he rolled over to glare at her reproachfully.

"Sorry Chiyo's Dad. Here, I'll get you some breakfast to apologize."

"You know, when you're talking to your cat, you need to get a life." Eva turned to find Rider standing in the doorway, dressed in a baggy white sweatshirt with the Shonen Jump magazine's J-pirate on it, and slightly ripped blue jeans. Despite her messy attire, she looked pretty good, and Eva couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at how effortlessly she pulled off the look.

Rider moved into the room, tugging on the edge of the sweatshirt "I get the whole idea of blending in, but do you have any clothes that you DIDN'T win at a comic-fair?"

"Oh, be quite. Just be happy that I had something that fit you, and that my sisters old clothes were still in her room." Flipping her hair, Eva stomped over to her closet, and began to riffle through it, searching for something to wear.

Letting go of the sweatshirt, Rider glanced up at Eva. "Hey, while you were passed out last night, we had a run in with another servant."

Eva stopped moving, jerking her head to the left to glare at Rider. "What."

"Yeah, he was waiting her for us when I touched down. He said his name was either Assassin or Lancer." Rider moved to sit on the edge of the bed, the tortoiseshell getting up to move onto her lap. She began to absently pet him as she continued "He rubbed me the wrong way. Just, something about him makes my skin crawl. I hope someone else takes him out for us."

Eva resumed picking through her closet, nodding. "That probably the best plan, all things considered. Wait for some of the other players to take each other out."

The two of them sat there in quiet thought as Eva finished getting dressed. When she was done, she turned to address Rider, but stopped when a smell reached her nose.

"Rider... what smells like burning?"

Rider immediately jumped up, tossing the cat off of her lap in her haste. He landed on the floor before dashing into the closet, to glare at them with glowing eyes from under an open dresser drawer.

"Oh shoot! Breakfast!" Rider rushed out of the room, heading towards the kitchen. Eva stared, aghast, before slowly following her out.

As she headed down the hallway past the guest bedroom and her sister's bedroom, Eva heard cursing coming from the kitchen up ahead. As she rounded the corner and passed through the living room, the sunlight coming in from an open window caught the twirling streamers of smoke emanating from the kitchen doorway.

In the kitchen proper, there were pots and pans scattered everywhere, with a pot bubbling on the stove. Somehow, a brown liquid was splattered up one of the walls, and what appeared to be a blackened disk was stuck to the ceiling. Eva stood in the doorway, and hesitantly asked, "Rider... did you try and... cook?"

Rider turned, grinning furiously. "Try nothing! I succeed in making breakfast! Look!" She pointed towards a couple of plates on the table in the middle of the room, which Eva had originally taken for charcoal. However, on closer inspection, she noticed that the plates in fact held various types of burned food. There was the brown liquid in a glass, a pile of squares that actually seemed to be charcoal even on the second glance, a mashed pile of white and yellow goop, and strips of burnt grease. Eva starred aghast at the display.

"I made eggs, toast, bacon, and orange juice! Its supposedly a classic breakfast, it says so in the cookbook." Rider gestured towards an open cookbook, now covered in the sludge dripping off the wall, which Eva realized in horror was supposed to be orange juice.

"Um, Rider, if its all right... I'm not very hungry..." Eva said, slowly backing away from the disaster in front of her.

"Don't be silly! You need to eat, other wise you'll never get better, Master!" Rider said with a smile, forcing Eva into a chair and scooting it up to the table, preventing her escape. As Eva stared at the 'food' Rider picked up one of the charcoal bricks (Toast, Eva realized), and bit into it. The awful crunching sound that followed was either the Toast being ground into dust, or Rider's teeth powderizing. Eva wasn't sure which. As she stared, Rider finished her bite and swallowed, grinning. "Mmm, delicious. Hurry and dig in before it gets cold!"

Rider pulled out the chair across from Eva, and resumed eating the Toast, as Eva reached a horrible realization: Rider had no sense of Taste.

This awful thought now in the forefront of her mind, Eva's life flashed before her eyes as Rider picked up a fork, scooped up a forkful of the egg goop, and carried it towards Eva's face. "Say, 'Aaah' Master~!"

Eva opened her mouth. But she didn't say 'Aaah'. Instead, her anguished cry was cut short by the pile of mush being popped into her mouth. As she chewed, Eva's eyes went blank, and she collapsed forward, all the strength draining from her body as her life attempted to escape.

Across from her, Rider picked up what was apparently Bacon and started chewing on it, looking at her Master's collapsed for. "Hmm, guess she isn't a fan of Western Cooking."

* * *

"Waah, Rider that was horrible!" Eva was half crying, half chocking as she furiously brushed her teeth in the bathroom, trying to remove the taste of Rider's 'cooking' from her taste buds.

"For the last time, it wasn't that bad! You're overreacting!" Rider shouted from the kitchen, where she was furiously scrubbing up the mess she had made.

"No! I thought I was going to die! Never cook again! EVER!" Eva called back, tears streaming down her face as she spat out toothpaste into the bowl of the sink.

"That's to harsh, Master!" Rider's response was filled with anguish. Eva realized that Rider thought that she had made a delicious breakfast. How sad that what she had actually made was closer to edible sludge.

Finishing scrubbing the taste out of her mouth, Eva entered the kitchen. Rider was wearing gloves and had pulled her hair back into a ponytail so that she could scrub off the stains and clean the dishes without getting her hair messy. Seeing Eva in the doorway, Rider made an unhappy face.

"Honestly, Master, why do I have to clean the whole kitchen after I made breakfast?" Rider complained as she cleaned.

"Because you made breakfast. You destroyed the kitchen!"

"I was trying to do something nice!"

"Argh!" Eva growled, unable to get it through to Rider. "Why are you so difficult?"

"I don't even know why you're mad! Jeez!" Both of them settled into an uncomfortable silence as Rider continued to clean. Eva sat with her head on her arms, resting on the kitchen table as she watched Rider's back at the sink. The silence grew thicker, and Eva started to wish she hadn't snapped at the other woman.

"... I'm sorry." Eva's head rose, and she looked at Rider. Rider cleared her throat, and repeated "I'm sorry. Even in my own world, I can be pretty troublesome, and I realize that I caused some problems this morning. Can you forgive me?"

Eva stared at her, then smiled. "Of course. I'm sorry as well Rider. I forgive you."

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, can you give me a hand with the dishes?"

"Nope. That's your punishment." Eva replied, still smiling.

"What! But you said you forgave me!" Rider looked at Eva, eye twitching.

"I did. But you still have to take care of the mess that you made." Eva stood up and walked over to Rider, hugging her around the waist. "That's why you're my Servant~!"

"Dammit!" Rider continued washing the dishes, tears running down her face. "You're such a jerk, Master!"

"I love you to, Rider." Eva replied, laughing as Rider continued to clean up her mess.

* * *

(Author's Note)

Urgh, my flagging writing skill has allowed me to create this. Guess I used it all on the other chapters. Oh well.

Anyway, a little short section about Eva and Rider. Was fun to write the dialogue, though my brain refuses to let me elaborate in the second half. Ah, a shame.

Also, the name of Eva's cat is Chiyo's Dad. He is from Azumanga Daioh. Despite being an orange creature in that work, Eva named her cat after him cause she likes the work. Also, as her cat is a Male Tortoiseshell, he is a strange mutation, so what better to name him than the strangest cat ever?

With this, I bid you all goodbye, until the urge to write strikes me. Maybe next time we'll get a fight scene? I hope so...


	6. Chapter 6 - Day 2 (Part 2)

Guess who's back? Sorry for being gone for so long, but I have had little to no creativity striking me. But, I finally got off my butt, and sat down and wrote. Here are the fruits of my... huh... it isn't labor... productivity?

Also! I don't own any of the Servants, as they are all pulled from other creator's works. I want to emphasize that, and that you should go read their sereis, as they are really really good. Enjoy!

* * *

Perched above the city, Fuyuki Church rested on its hill. Silent, the old structure sat at peace as the sun slowly moved overhead, marking the time as a little after sunrise. No one was inside it at this time, and the building rested in a bubble of calm that seemed to seep from the walls of the building itself. It looked so peaceful, so serene.

As the sun continued to slowly ascend, one person could be made out, laboring up the hill. Despite the subtle incline, the person was puffing by the time they reached the top. Bracing themselves on the wall, the paused to catch their breath, black hair falling in front of their face, grey jacket hanging open to keep them from overheating on the climb.

After they had recovered, the person glanced up, looking at the front side of the church. 'They' turned out to be a young man, probably in his mid twenties. He had a long face, with lanky black hair that fell past his eyes, which he occasionally reached up to brush back, sweeping it back before it would flop back into place. His grey jacket covered a buttoned up white shirt, and a stripped grey and black tie pulled a little loose during the climb. Black slacks adorned his legs, ending in black dress shoes, slightly scuffed from his walk. Hanging on a thin chain around his neck was a silver cross, which he had a habit of touching absentmindedly as he glanced around.

Seeing that there was no one in sight, the man pushed himself off the wall, and walked under the archways towards the door leading inside. As he approached, the man withdrew a key from his pocket. After inserting the key into the lock, he turned it, but found that the church door was already open. Making an annoyed face, the man quickly returned the key to his pocket and slipped inside the heavy wood doors.

The insides of the church were slightly dim, with some sunlight leaking in through the windows at the sides of the church. This cast long shadows from the backs of the pews and the wooden supports that dotted the room. Motes of dust drifted through the small beams that cut through the gloom, emphasizing just how empty the church was. Or how empty it seemed to be.

Striding towards the far wall of the church, the young man climbed into the confessional booth. After closing the door and seating himself, the small partition in the grill to his right slid open, and the shadow of a man could be made out in the other booth.

"There you are. Where were you last night?" The man's voice was sharp, and had a slight nasally pitch to it, but his eyes stared through the grill, a piercing grey that glared at the shadowy figure, which simply shrugged.

The young man shivered, rubbing his shoulders. "Did you turn the AC on again? Its really cold in here."

He fidgeted, drawing his jacket closer around himself to ward off the invasive chill. After he finished, he continued "Look, I honestly don't care if you go out. Just lock up when you come back. What if someone had broken into the church?"

The shadow shrugged again, making no motion to answer the man's question.

The young man sighed, fiddling with the cross with his right hand. "Alright, look, the final servant was summoned a few days ago. Are you sure you're okay with not doing anything?"

Once again, no response. The man started at the impassive figure on the other side of the grill, before snorting. "Fine, be that way. I'll continue to gather information on the other participants, then we can devise a strategy. And make sure to keep tabs on your 'associate'. I don't want him to cause any trouble just yet." The young man stood, unlocked the door, and quickly left the cold church through the big wooden doors.

The church once again became silent. Then, the other booth opened, and the man inside climbed out. As he shut the door behind him, he moved through one of the beams of sunlight let in by the windows on the walls of the church. The shadow lifted, throwing his form into stark relief. Plain black priests clothes, under a purple cassock, with a golden cross on a chain around his neck. Dark brown locks of hair that flowed around his head and neck, and brown eyes that seemed to hold no emotion whatsoever.

"Very well, 'Master'. I'll be sure to be careful. Unfortunately..." The man passed out of the light, the gloominess of the church enveloping him as he moved towards the far wall, pulling open a door leading deeper into the churches heart.

"My 'associate' does what he wants. He's already headed out for the day."

* * *

**DAY [2]**

* * *

'[Rider] - One of the classes that may be chosen for the Grail War. Has the ability to automatically be proficient with the control of any transportation. Sta-'

'[Command Seals] - The mark of a master. Can be used to give your servant an undeniable command, allowing them to temporarily defy real-"

'[Magic Circuits] - The magic system inherent to the Nasuverse. Has been recreated in the phone's constru-'

'[Origin Mode] - Unique feature of the app to allow masters to participate in the fi-'

Damien flicked the screen again, and the page scrolled down as he continued to scan the help page he had downloaded the night before. He was experimenting with the Servant App, seeing as it was what made the whole war possible. He paused to jot some notes in the journal on his lap, before he went back to examining the phone.

"Hey! Put down your phone and help Saber clean up from Breakfast, Damien!"

Sighing, Damien complied, grabbing the plate that was in front of him as his sister glared from where she was standing at the stove, using a wooden spoon to direct Saber as he washed the dishes. The servant had quickly realized that Iza outranked Damien, and wasn't about to disobey her. He was once again dressed in the clothing Damien had lent him, as Iza had managed to get the bloodstains out of it the night before.

"Why are you even messing with your phone? The rule is nothing electronic at the table."

"Or you'll dunk it in my drink. Yes, I know." Damien finished clearing the table as Iza's glare turned into a scowl.

"That was a one time event, and it should have been a lesson regardless!" She fumed as she stomped her foot as Damien grinned. He knew that it irked her, but felt justified after last night. With a 'argh', Iza left the kitchen in frustration, spoon still clutched in her hand.

Turning to Saber, Damien's face grew more serious. "Hey, we need to go back to the park today."

"Why?" Saber paused, a plate in one hand, sponge in the other as he raised an eyebrow. "Did we forget something there?"

"No." Damien dropped off his load of dishes, then grabbed the journal off the table. "Look, while I was doing my research last night, I came across something weird. Remember how I said that there was no great fire in this world?"

"Yeah." Saber resumed washing, but his eyebrow remained raised as he looked at his master, now chewing on the end of a pencil. "You said that the fire was caused by the participants in the 4th grail war."

"Exactly. But, here, there was no fire. And the park was built to commemorate the fire, and the destruction it caused."

"But, if there was no fire..." Saber's eyes narrowed, catching on as Damien continued to nod.

"Exactly. Why is there a park?"

The two fell silent as Saber continued to scrub, and Damien made a few marks on his journal. Then Iza bustled back in. "Hey! If you're going out today, we need some ingredients form the market. Can you stop by and get them?"

The two looked at each other, then nodded. "Sure thing, Ms. Iza. I'll makes sure that we get the groceries."

"Of course, Sis. We'll get them on our way home."

Iza smiled, grabbing both of them around the shoulders, pulling them into an awkward hug. "Thanks. Have fun, and don't fall down anymore cliffs."

* * *

"So, remind me: what are we looking for here?"

Damien glanced over at Saber, who was sitting next to him on the fountain in the park. Saber was holding a copy of Shonen Jump, leafing through the pages, the groceries from the market at his feet. Gesturing around the park, Damien replied "Anything out of the ordinary. I mean, this whole place shouldn't exist, based on the work."

"That's whats been bugging me. What if this Nasu guy just based his work on this city? And he chose to make up the fire to explain why there was a park here?" Saber turned to another page. "I mean, yeah, if that work had actually happened, I would understand, but-"

"But nothing. How do you explain this?" Damien pulled out his phone and waved it in-front of Saber's face, the marking on the back glowing slightly as it moved. "How do you explain you? How do you explain any of the weird stuff that started two days ago?"

"I dunno Boss. Nothing makes sense right now." The two of them settled into silence as Damien glanced around the park, and Saber kept reading his copy of Jump.

Out of nowhere, Saber asked, "Hey, does this guy look like me?" Before handing his magazine over to Damien to look at.

Squinting, Damien made out the shape of an older gentleman, wearing a white tank top, with his hair styled in a pompadour. He was holding two small devices that looked like tasers, and was using them to paralyze his opponents muscles. His eyes were scrunched in a multitude of laugh lines, and his face was serene while fighting.

"Eeh, kinda? I think its the hairstyle mostly. You aren't that old."

"I guess." Saber resumed flipping through the magazine. "Huh. There are so many different works in here. And our opponents could be any character from any of them?"

"I don't think its just mangas. The website said ANY animated work. Who knows what somebody might have plugged into their phone." Damien stared gloomily at the empty park, looking dejected. The sun was already going down, and the barren trees made the park seem a lot more empty than it normally would.

"Well, at least it can't get any worse." Damien sighed.

"[You know, that's just the sort of thing the Hero says before the story goes horribly wrong. You probably shouldn't have done that.]"

Saber and Damien both jumped, finding themselves face to face with a young man in a black school uniform. He smiled, and both of them felt the pits drop out of their stomachs as the wind suddenly kicked up, making the tree branches waver eerily. The park got silent suddenly, all the sounds that would normally be in the background ominously silenced.

"[Its a pleasure to meet the two of you. Please treat me gently]"

"Boss, I can't sense his presence at all. Do you think he's...?"

"Yeah." Damien glanced towards the exit of the park, trying to judge the distance from the fountain to them if they needed to run. Suddenly, the dark haired boy was in front of him, a look of concern pulled across his face.

"[Hey, that's rude, to consider running off when someone is trying to have a talk with you]" He waggled a finger in front of Damien's nose, before grinning "[Though I must say, your ability to recognize danger is first class.]"

"Hilarious." Saber growled, his white overcoat flashing into existence. "How about you tell us who you are, and I don't beat you to a pulp?"

The young man raised his hands, shaking his head with a smile. "[I can't do that. The whole point of having a class is to keep our names secret. Though you're free to try and gue-]"

Without warning, Saber launched himself forward, fist outstretched. It connected with a crunch to the young man's face, who then flew backwards, slamming into a tree about twenty feet away, before sliding to the ground.

"No thanks. I don't feel like playing games today. Now spill before I continue to beat your face in." Saber's fist remained clenched as he glared at the crumpled form of the young man, who was now sitting up and dabbing at his nose in amazement.

"[Wow, you hit really hard. Guess all that muscle is good for something after all.]"

"What did you say to me, punk?!" Saber shouted, bearing down on the young man, who looked up and smiled at the enraged red head.

However, before he could proceed with his plan to beat the kid into a pulp, Damien shouted, "Saber! Wait!"

Freezing in place, Saber glanced over his shoulder. "What? Why shouldn't I beat him up?"

"Listen. Why is it so quiet?" Saber paused, realizing neither of them could hear anything other than the three of them breathing. Everything else was dead silent. The wind made no noise as it blew through the leave-less branches, the water in the fountain didn't splash as it trickled down from the upper layer to the pool below, and the noises of the creatures, which had been heard the night before, were nowhere to be found.

"W-what the. Why isn't anything making any noise?" Saber backed up to stand beside Damien as the man in front of them stood up, setting his nose with one hand as he waved to the two of them with the other.

"[Oh, that was me. I thought that the park was a little to noisy, so I erased its ambiance. Much better now.]" As he removed the hand from his face, Damien noticed that the blood that had been streaming down his face was gone, and that his crushed nose was perfectly fine. The man reached back and scratched his head, saying "[I mean, its not really my fault. Its the park's fault for being so noisy in the first place. Don't you agree?]"

Damien felt the skin on his spine crawl. To erase all the noise in the park? Who the hell was this guy?

"Saber, we may have to fight our way out. Get ready." Saber nodded, his eyes never leaving the smiling face in front of them.

"[Oh? Don't bother. The person we're waiting for should be here momentarily.]" The boy waved a hand in front of him, equal parts aggravating and off-settling, considering his prior performance.

"Who should be he-" Damien didn't even finish his sentence before the quiet of the park was interrupted by the sound of a girl yelling.

"LAAANNNCCCEEERRR!"

Saber and Damien jumped again, their heads whipping to the left as someone wearing a hooded sweatshirt ran past them, barely missing knocking Saber over in their hurry. The figure stopped beside the young man in black, panting as she bent over to get her breath. When she straightened, Damien realized that it was a girl who appeared to be in her late teens, early twenties, wearing clothing entirely unsuitable to winter. Her hair was a silvery white, not styled at all, that curled up under her ears. Her skin was very pale, which only served to make her eyes stand out. They were a very deep blue, almost purplish black in color, opened very wide in a way that proclaimed a kind of innocence. Besides the grey Hoodie, she was wearing blue jean cutoffs over black leggings, ending in sneakers. An under the sweatshirt, she was wearing...

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Damien and Saber both shouted as the girl began talking to the boy, apparently called Lancer, who's face had lit up when she had appeared.

"Lancer! There you are. Why did you run off like that? We need to find those two before anything happens." Her voice was rather thick, seeming to hint at an accent, but Damien couldn't place it. Then, turning, she saw him and Saber standing by the fountain, and clapped her hands together. "Oh, you did find them! Wonderful!"

She quickly moved over, reaching out and taking Damien's hand before processing to shake it vigorously. "Hello! It is a pleasure to meet you, Master of Saber! I look forward to working together!" Her head titled to the side, a smile of pure happiness on her features, a perfect counter to Damien's look of pure confusion.

"Wait, wait, wait." He carefully removed his hand from the girls grasp, her smile replaced with a questioning look. "Lets back up. Who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me. I am Valisha, and this," She pointed one hand behind her to Lancer, who waved "Is my partner, Lancer. We are looking for allies, in the war, and I had him searching for the best possible partner for us."

"[You guys are the weakest besides us, so you'll be the easiest to deal with when we need to back-stab you.]" Lancer had moved up behind his master, and smiled as Saber's face one again contorted with anger.

"Weakest! Why you-" He was cut off as Valisha turned and began to smack Lancer on the head with the flat of her hand.

"Lancer! How many times must I tell you! It is not nice to be rude towards allies. Bad boy!" Lancer retreated into a small ball as Valisha's assault continued, her smacks making a thudding sound as they landed in the middle of his head, one after another. When she finished, Valisha turned back to the two boys, who were looking on in confusion at the bizarre comedy scene in front of them.

"Now, any more questions?" Valisha's smiled, prompting Damien out of his daze.

Clearing his throat, Damien asked "Yes, uh... why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Vlaisha looked down at the open fronted Hoodie she was wearing, a look of confusion on her face. "Lancer said that this outfit was a powerful battle outfit, and that it would give me strength in our later fights."

Damien and Saber both turned to Lancer, who gave them a thumbs up. "[Indeed! All women should wear open sweaters, as it enhances their natural beauty.]" His eyes misted over, then he began crying. "[It is my dream to see all the women in the world wear nothing but open sweaters and naked aprons. Imagine, that as far as the eye can see!]" Lancer stopped, to choked with emotion to continue.

"Isn't it nice that he has a dream?" Valisha smiled as Saber and Damien exchanged looks that said exactly what they thought of Lancer's dream. Then, Saber stiffened, right hand darting up to press his index and middle fingers to his forehead as he turned to look at the back of the park.

"Boss, we've got two powers inbound. And their huge."

Valisha's smile diapered, and Lancer stood up, eyes tear free. "[They're coming. So, what do you say to our offer of an alliance?]"

Damien stared at the wall, teeth grinding as he poured over all the actions available to him. Side with these strangers, or try to escape them and whoever else was coming? He pressed one hand to his temple as a headache began to form from the stress.

"Boss, one of them has the same power as one of the guys watching us when you summoned me." Damien glanced over to Saber, who was starting to visibly sweat, his fingers still in place. "Except, now I can feel that they're not even trying to hide their presence. They don't care if we know they're coming."

Valisha moved up beside him, extending her hand again. "Like I said, I look forward to working with you. You wont survive this fight if you don't side with us." Damien glanced down at the outstretched hand, then back up to her face. Her eyes were still wide, but her entire face seemed to have sharpened. He could tell that she wasn't lying about their chances.

He hesitated a moment longer before he took the proffered hand. "Damien Grey. I look forward to surviving tonight with you."

* * *

All right! The story's heating up! A new servant appeared, the identity of one has been confirmed, and a fight is about to break out. What will happen in the next exciting chapter!

... well, a fight, cause of the... uh... cliffhanger... and the whole set up... so...

ALSO! The reveal of a servants identity! NEXT CHAPTER! (Runs away from keyboard).


	7. Chapter 7 - Night 2 (Part 1)

(Runs back to keyboard) WHEW! Its been five months. Far to long to let this story sit. But now I am back, my good people, and I shall try and post some more before the inevitable crush of non-productivity washes over me again, sending me into an abyss of procrastination and broken plots.

But enough stalling! My internet ate this post three times, and I'll be damned if I don't get at least one new chapter out!

* * *

**Night [2]**

* * *

"Likewise. Now, Mr. Grey, we must move if we wish to escape." Valisha once again grasped the Boy's hand, feeling the lines in his palm, a shiver going up her arm as the story embedded there played out across her fingers. It would be so easy to read his past, to learn everything about him, using her gift to see his whole life...

Valisha shook her head, scattering the thoughts. It wasn't that easy, she new that first hand. And there wasn't any time to do a reading, not with the enemy closing in. Turning, she looked at her partner, who was standing a little ways off, starring idly at the opposite end of the park, a look of bemusement on his face.

"Lancer."

At the sound of his name, the boy turned to face his master, bowing exaggeratedly. "[Yes, Master? What can I do for you?]"

"I need you to cover our escape. Hold them off for as long as you can, then meet back up with us. Can you do that?" Behind her, she felt the other Servant stiffen, obviously displeased with her decision, but she stared at Lancer, waiting for a response. She had to be sure he was okay with her choice. They were partners.

Lancer mulled it over for a few moments, then smiled. "[Fine by me Master. But, do you mind if I win?']"

Behind her, Valisha felt the Boy's grip tighten, and she allowed herself a small smile. "If you can, Lancer. Do your best." She then turned to the two behind her, a Boy and his servant, and gestured with her free hand. "Come. We have to leave now. And don't forget your groceries."

* * *

Lancer stood by himself in the middle of the park. The silence that had fallen over the park was oppressive, as if someone had pressed the mute button on life, and it pressed down on everything, giving a heavy, crushing weight to everything.

It was perfect for Lancer, who stood in the middle of it all, reveling in how still everything seemed, how without the noise, the world appeared to consist of just him, a single entity in the whole entire world.

"[But that's not true, is it?]" Lancer's gaze fell down to the entrance way that he was standing in front of. It was an opening in the high steel fence that was erected around the park to complement the industrialized area that made up the Shinto district. The gate to the outside hung open, pulled back on either side of the road and chained to the fence to prevent it from moving, and gave Lancer a clear view of the street bordering the park.

"[I'm not alone. You're right there, aren't you?]" Lancer gazed at the road impassively, a bored look on his face as the silence continued, not moving as he waited for a response form the presence that had been closing in on the park, and now lurked just outside the streetlamps that bordered the walkways.

In response, a high pitched whistling sound rang out from the darkness, followed by streaks of light that pierced down to where Lancer was standing. In a flash, Lancer had sprung backwards, landing on the lip of the fountain, staring at the spot he had just inhabited. Where he had been standing, the ground was pierced by dozens of weapons, in all shapes and sizes, arrayed in a cluster that would have struck straight through his chest.

Even one of those weapons would have been enough to kill him. Lancer grinned, rising to his feet and dusting off the front of his uniform. "[Well, that was quite rude. Usually, when main characters meet, they should introduce themselves to the readers. Makes for a boring story otherwise.]"

From the darkness, a laugh rang out, then a figure stepped into the light cast by one of the park lamps. He was fairly tall, with golden hair hanging down in a short, neat cut that was both totally stylish, and seemingly effortless. He was dressed in a white button up shirt, untucked over black slacks with black dress shoes, hanging loosely on his frame. Over this, he wore a black biker jacket that cut off at his waist, accentuating his wide shoulders, and making him appear even taller in contrast. The most stunning feature were his crimson eyes, two glinting orbs caught in a shadow cast by his hair under the park lamp. Altogether, his appearance was that of perfection, as though someone had molded the perfect human, and cast this man from the mold. He carried himself with an air of superiority, and upon catching sight of Lancer, a smirk crept across his handsome face, twisting it into one of cruelty.

"I had expected to actually have a challenge tonight, what with all the players now on the board. But it seems that the others have fled like cowards, and all that is left..." The smirk broke into a wide smile as the man began to laugh. "Is a mongrel like you. Tell me, did the others flee in terror or leave you behind to die?"

Lancer's smile didn't flinch. "[Both, actually. I'm to buy time so they can escape. But...]" Lancer's glance took in the stranger, from his golden hair to his dark clothes, before returning to his smug face. "[Your face pisses me off, so I think I'll beat you into the dirt with the rest of us losers.]

The strangers face barely had time to register shock before another high pitched whistling rang out, this time followed by grey and silver streaks arcing towards the golden man's frame. Before they touched him, the air shivered, and dozens of weapons burst into existence, piercing the projectiles before they reached their target: the golden-haired stranger.

"Wha-" The golden-haired man began to say before stopping, staring at what his weapons had intercepted. Coming at him from several angles were large, pointed screws, longer than his torso, all sharp and aimed directly at his head. The various swords, spears, and lances that had shot out to intercept them had pierced right through, immobilizing the dangerous projectiles, but the stranger's eyes were drawn to the figure standing on the fountain's edge, still smiling as if nothing had happened. The stranger's face twisted into a scowl, his stance shifting ever so slightly as he glared at Lancer

"Bastard. You dare try and touch me?" The weapons protruding from thin air withdrew, letting the screws clatter to the ground. The two figures remained where they were, eyes locked on one another. Lancer seemed to take in the stranger in his entirety, relaxed as he casually assessed the man before him. The stranger, by contrast, focused on Lancer as if he was barely worth his time, a look of scorn and disgusted intrigue mixing on his face, as if even acknowledging Lancer was painful to him. The silence over the park continued to stretch, the heaviness deepening into a smothering blanket over the entire area. Time seemed to stop.

Then the golden-haired man straightened, his face relaxing into one of indifference, his eyes now looking not at Lancer, but through him. His lips once again twisted into a smirk, as he raised one hand in a posture of dismissal. "Why am I even bothering with you? Even for a mongrel, you're pathetic. Your existence is a waste, so leave my presence if you value your worthless life. You're wasting my time"

Lancer continued to smile, his eyes locked on the stranger before him. "[That was my order. Still...]" Lancer's head dropped, his hair shifting to hide his eyes. The smile on his face remained, but it was bitter. "[I know I'm worthless. That I'm pathetic. That I am the weakest human ever. That's why...]" Lancer glanced back up, the smile dropping, his face setting into a mask of defiance. "[That's why I'll beat you and all the other elites like you. I'll drag you down to my level and show you such misfortune, the likes of which you have never seen]"

The stranger's eyes narrowed. "There is nothing I have not seen, boy. You claim you will show me misfortune, so let me show you overwhelming destruction." The air behind him began to ripple, then glowing circles began to appear. First one, then ten, no, a hundred. The countless shimmers spread behind the golden-haired man, stretching up and over him, a rippling wall of gold. From the center of each circle, the tips of countless weapons began to emerge, till the entire surface bristled with the front-ends of spears and blades and pole-arms.

"So, little hero. How's this for misfortune?" The stranger threw back his head and laughed, a deep, resonating laugh that echoed in the silence that persisted. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the wall of weapons descended in a hail of death. "Despair and Die."

With a blur, Lancer moved. The weapons streaked down, but every spot they filled was simply a footstep as Lancer dashed across the distance between himself and the stranger. More weapons sprouted out of thin air, stabbing out to impale him as he moved forward. They were met with either a parry from the two screws Lancer now wielded in each hand, or they were struck down by a screw pinning them to the ground, trapped against the earth. The sounds of steel on steel rang out as the rain of death failed to strike its target again and again, and Lancer strode ever closer to the stranger.

A look of annoyance on his face, the stranger reached back and grasped the handle of a sword that slipped into existence next to him. Pulling it from its golden circle, he leveled it at Lancer as the boy streaked towards him. "Hmph. You're slippery, trash. I'll give you that much. So why don't you hold still?"

Lancer brought the screws in his hands down towards the golden-haired man, who brought the sword up in a lazy arc, easily catching both bolts on the flat of his blade. Then, circles sprouted all around the two, from which burst links upon links of silvery chain. It sprang out, trapping Lancer's limbs and hoisting him into the air, where they continued to slither across his body, till they had totally immobilized his form. Lancer's face wore a twisted grin as he spat at the golden-haired man ."[Afraid of loosing, Mr. Elite? Or did you finally run out of swords?]"

"No. I just wanted to see your face when you die, little hero." The man snapped his fingers again. The remaining weapons shot down, riddling Lancer's body with blade after blade, tearing through his restrained form. Lancer screamed, quickly turned into a gurgle as blades tore through his lungs. His body shook against the restraints, desperately trying to dodge the hail of blades descending on his unprotected body, tears springing from his eyes as swords and glaives impaled themselves in his chest and back, hanging there like some demented Christmas ornament. The rain continued for several minutes, the golden-haired man watching impassively as the form before him writhed.

Finally, his body ripped to shreds, weapons protruding from his broken form, Lancer hung in the chains grip, motionless. The stranger stared for a moment more, then turned, remarking over his shoulder "Well, for a two-bit character, you certainly proved frustrating. The world is a better place without a mongrel like you."

As he moved towards the exit from the park, the stranger heard from behind him a rasping, gurgling laugh. Turning, he saw the broken form of lancer twitch, racked by pain and wheezing, gasping laughter. "For a dead man, you're certienaley lively. What's so funny, trash?"

Lancer's laughter tapered off, his glassy eyes trying to focus on the stranger. "Heh... heh... two-bit character... that's funny."

The golden-haired man walked back towards the impaled figure, stopping several feet away from him. "And why is it so funny for me to call you that?"

Lancer's eyes finally focused on the stranger's face, and he grinned. "Because, this time... this time I'm not a secondary character. This time..." His hands slowly wrapped around the links of chain suspending his arms in the air, grasping hold of their silvery links. "This time... I'm the protagonist."

A shudder passed though the air between Lancer and the stranger. The chains seemed to shimmer for a moment, then they vanished. The swords riddling his form also shimmered, then they to ceased to be. Landing on his knees, Lancer took a few ragged breaths, then stood, the wounds that had shredded his body suddenly absent. Even his clothes were in perfect condition. Adjusting the cuffs on his sleeves, Lancer rolled his shoulders before glaring at the stranger before him.

The stranger's eyes narrowed, taking in the reversal of damage that the servant before him had performed. Then, he pointed at Lancer and snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

A look of puzzlement crossed the man's face. He snapped his fingers again. Still, nothing appeared. The puzzled look remained for a moment as the man stared at his fingers in confusion, before comprehension dawned on his features. His eyes stared at the boy before him, who stood, hands in pockets, amid the field of weapons that sprouted from the ground like plants made of metal.

"Wha... what did you do to my chain?" The stranger snapped, a look of anger crossing his normally featureless face.

Lancer casually shrugged. "[As thanks for showing me your Noble Phantasm, I showed you mine.]" Lancer spread his hands before him, breaking into another smile, eyes still glaring out from under his brow."[It looks like we got off on the wrong foot. Lets start over. A proper meeting of rivals should begin with introductions.]"

The stranger stared at the boy before him, before breaking into the same laugh from before, deep and echoing, but this time tinged with other emotions: anger, disbelief, and a hint of uncertainty. "You are not worthy of calling yourself my rival, mongrel. Only one person ever had that right. But I will grace you with my name. You've interested me enough to have earned that." The man before him briefly shone, then reappeared, the leather jacket and pants replaced by a suit of shinning golden armor. His hair, previously flat, now spiked up and backwards, and his smug smile returned to his face.

"I am the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh. Summoned as Archer. Remember it in the next world." The golden man reached backwards with both hands, pulling forth two different blades from the golden circles that appeared at his sides.

Lancer's smile widened, and . "[I'm Kumagawa Misogi, the worlds greatest loser. Summoned as Lancer. Now let me tell you what is going to happen.]"

Lancer strode forward, till he was standing next to one of the weapon clusters, all pulling in to a single point in the ground, then looked Gilgamesh straight in the eyes. "[I'm going to strip you of every single one of your weapons...]" He reached out and grabbed the hilt of a planted sword, which vanished into thin air. "[And leave you with nothing. I'm going to do this over and over, for every sword, every spear, every axe you throw at me, I will use my Nobel Phantasm to reduce it to nothing. And when I'm done, I'll take your pride and break it into tiny little bits, till not a shred of it remains, until all you have left is your name. And then...]" Kumagawa swiped his hand through the cluster, causing it to vanish as well, erasing the legacies of those weapons with a single sweep of his hand.

"... I'll erase you." It wasn't a threat, it wasn't a boast. It was a promise. "For being an elite, for being perfect, for being right, because I don't like your face, because your hair is stupid, because I want to. I. Will. Erase you." In his hand appeared another long screw, about the size of a sword. This one, though, unlike the Phillips head screws that he had been using before, had a pan head with a minus symbol on it. Holding it in front of him, Kumagwa bent his knees, reading himself. "So, come on, King of Heroes. Lets see if you'll bet it all."

For a second, the two stood across from each other, and time one again seemed to slow. The silence that had been the backdrop to this fight settled once again, but only for a second. Both forms exploded into motion, as the gates behind Gilgamesh tore open, torrents of blades pouring out and firing at Lancer. A second specialty screw appeared in his hand, and he began to block, stab, and parry the torrential horde of weapons. Kumagawa's form blurred as he moved faster than the eye could see, advancing up the stream of weapons as Gilgamesh fell back, more and more circles ripping open to flood his adversary with a deluge of steel and bronze.

Every sword that was parried or blocked spun off, lodging themselves to the sides and behind Lancer in a path, those that actually hit him vanished moments later, the damage healing almost instantly. Slowly but surely, Kumagawa advanced on the King of Heroes, his eyes locked on his opponent's face, which went from anger, to shock, to dread at the slowly advancing boy.

"I... I can't lose! I wont lose! I REFUSE TO LOSE TO TRASH LIKE YOU!" Gilgamesh roared, his head plunging into a golden circle beside him, before it re-emerged.

Gripping a golden handle with a golden hand guard.

The torrent of projectiles continued, Kumagawa now only a few feet away. If anything, it intensified, more an more slipping through his parries and strikes, until he was simply erasing the weapons, to per-occupied to close the wounds as the blood slowly spread across his front. His limbs barely slowed, but his teeth gritted in pain as the movements stretched the punctured flesh. His breath came faster and more shallow, as each breath hurt more than the last, both from exertion and the growing number of wounds.

In front of him, Gilgamesh finally removed the... it wasn't a sword. Whatever it was, it had a gold and blue, double layered hand guard. Above that, three black cylinders with red glyphs carved in them rose, till it was capped by another piece of blue and gold metal. The... blade hung in Gilgamesh's grip as he raised his arm above his head.

"Wake up Ea. Its time." In response, the weapon hummed, the cylinders starting to turn as an invisible wind started to stir. Faster and faster they spun, until a high pitched whine rung out from rotating cylinders. The wind whipped faster and faster, turning into a gale that was pulled into the spinning blade. Weapons that had been knocked aside were uprooted and dragged back, scrapping along the ground or flying through the air as the whine turned into a roar.

The torrent of fired weapons slowed to a trickle, then stopped as the blade approached its final revolutions, the roar almost deafening as air itself rippled and tore around the screaming thing. Kumagawa gritted his teeth, advancing on the stationary King of Hero's. The wind tore at his clothing, blood leaking from his numerous wounds and joining the debris that the howling blade was throwing around.

"This is the end, little hero!" Gilgamesh's voice rang out over the sound of the blade clutched in his hand, its length humming and vibrating as if it was alive as it neared the apex of whatever it was. "Disappear, along with this world!"

"You first!" Kumagawa reached forward and grabbed the arm holding the weapon called Ea, the other swinging up, and into Gilgamesh's abdomen. There was a second as the two stared at each other, before the golden armor flicked out of existence, revealing the normal clothes beneath. With a howl, Gilgamesh brought the blade in his hand down, his arm no longer gripped, leveling it at Kumagawa's torso. At the same time, the screw slammed up and through Gilgamesh's body, and his hair went white as it pierced him.

In that moment, the screw pericing him stripped him of everything. Everything that made him who he as, all his accomplishments, all his pride, all his success, reduced to ash in a moment. Evey victory, turned to failure. Every dream, shattered. His whole being was thoroughly devastated, reduced to nothing more than the weakest person. The same as the man standing before him. The same as that mongrel.

Gilgamesh grit his teeth, and pulled every last shred of himself he could still hold onto together. "Not... enough... to stop... ME!" He practically spat as he pressed the tip of Ea into the center of Kumagawa's chest.

"ENUMA... ELISH!" Gilgamesh half screamed, half choked out the name of the blade, as it pulsed once, the blood red glow from the runes intensifying as it spun up into an ear-splitting wail. From the tip, a blast of crimson and black, swirling together into a male-storm of devastation and chaos that exploded out.

Directly into Lancer's chest.

He clung with all his might to the screw embedded in Gilgamesh's abdomen, the only anchor holding him to the world as the energies from the cursed blade ravaged his form. He could feel his body being destroyed slowly as the torrent of crimson energies washed over him, threatening to engulf him and drag him down into the abyss.

The two remained locked together, one with his sense of self being destroyed from within, one with his entire body being destroyed from without. There was no silence as the howling energies poured from the blade, and the two of them both roared. They didn't know whether it was from pain, from excitement, or from sheer madness settling in.

The scene seemed to stretch on, each second dragging out to grueling minutes, the park lit by that unearthly crimson glow that seemed to suffuse everything as it intensified even more. It seemed like it would last forever.

Then it stopped. The glow faded, the cylinders stopped moving, and the park once again fell silent. Save the ragged breathing of the two fighters, both still locked in place. Lancer's body was burned all over, the wounds from the weapons now cauterized shut. Gilgamesh fared little better, his eyes dropping and his posture slumped, his psyche ravaged by the effects of the screw rammed into his lower torso.

It was Kumagawa who broke the silence. "I never told you what my Noble Phantasm was called, did I?"

Gilgamesh snorted, an action made hard by the screw in his gut. "I never asked. Why does it matter?"

Kumagawa smiled. "Figured you'd want to know before you go. Its called All Fiction."

The servant stared for a second, before he realized what the boy meant. Without even being able to respond, his form shivered, then was gone, erased by the hand touching his chest and holding the screw.

With a sigh, Kumagawa collapsed backwards onto the ground, his wounds finally settling in. "[Looks like a draw. Heh... even in the end, I couldn't win. Sorry, master...]" As, he closed his eyes, Kumagawa once again smiled, this time a real, genuine smile as he drifted off into oblivion.

* * *

After a few minutes, two figures emerged from the shadows of the park. The forms quickly became apparent as the tiny silver haired girl, and the giant Golden Man. They paused over the spot where the King of Heroes had disappeared, then moved over to the fallen body of the servant formerly known as Lancer. The girl knelt down, and felt his neck, before turning to the large man behind her, his hair glistening in the moonlight once again.

"He's dead master. He doesn't have a pulse."

The Golden man shrugged, his deep, commanding voice tinged with disappointment. "Shame. We could have used someone with his talents. Oh well. Let us continue after the others that fled. We'll see if they can amuse us like these two did."

The small girl nodded. "Of course, Master Archer." Both turned and faded back into the night, leaving the park empty save the broken body of a servant.

* * *

Phew! That took a two whole days to write, and I'm still not happy with it. I feel I could have added more in places, maybe elaborated more. But my brain is already sluggish and unresponsive after this small piece. I'm not going to push it to come up with any more.

So, yeah, as I promised: Servant Bios! Kinda... I'm going to explain a little about the servants, and their noble phantasms if I've revealed them. Though I don't see these two appearing again, since their both dead. Oh well, What can you do?

Anyway, that's this part done. I have done a lot of typing, the next part is brewing in my poor, addled brain, and I need to sleep. Also, We still have five servants who's identities haven't been guessed, and one more to still be decided upon. Feel free to comment, critique, or just remind me that people read this thing. I dunno. Gonna go sleep now.

-{ }-

[Archer] - Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes

Pulled directly from Fate/Stay Night, Gilgamesh is crazily strong. In the work, he is considered the strongest hero, not only because he is the oldest, but because he has every Nobel Phantasm. Let me restate that: since he is the original legend, he is the root of all legends, and thus all legendary items once belonged to him. Its totally broken. Also, he is arrogant as hell, and difficult to write. I am glad his appearance was short.

Noble Phantasm: Gate of Babylon (glowy circle thing)

This is where he stores all the treasures that he amassed during his life. It is accessed through glowing portals or "gates", which he can open at will. He also uses them to fire the weapons stored inside at enemies, since he is above fighting them. Hence why he is the Archer class.

Noble Phantasm: Ea

A unique noble phantasm that only belonged to him, it is classified as an anti-world noble phantasm. It has the power to destroy reality if fully charged. Thankfully, when not, it jut functions as a wave-motion cannon, killing everything its path. Wait...

-{ }-

[Lancer] - Kumagawa Misogi, the world's greatest loser

Appearing in the manga Medaka Box (Well worth a read, thought a little to meta at points), Kumagawa eventually got a short spin off and even his own animated special, he was such a break out character. Classified as a minus, a person with a personality that is negative to a point that it breaks reality, Kumagwa is the worst at everything. He will never win at anything he does, and most people dislike him since he can be a generally unpleasant person to be around, with his negative attitude. Still, he never gives up, and is always willing to get back up and keep trying to win. The reason all his text is displayed with [] is because in the manga his text is written with brackets around it. Its a pun based on Japanese writing, meaning hes always trying to sound cool.

Noble Phantasm: All Fiction

I would classify this as an anti-world noble phantasm. All Fiction erases things from reality. Items, injuries, people, places, sounds, auras, anything and everything, it can erase it. Basically, its completely broken, and really only kept in check because Kumagwa has to concentrate to use it. Otherwise, he could slip and destroy everything in existence. That's why its an anti-world noble phantasm.

Noble Phantasm: Bookmaker (Pan Head screws)

Kumagawa's second Noble Phantasm, Bookmaker is weird. Basically, whoever is stabbed with the screw has all of his stats brought down to Kumagawa's level. Smarts, strength, endurance, everything. However, it also re-writes your personality so that you think like Kumagawa as well. This is so messed up, because it forcibly rips apart who you are and makes you think like Kumagawa does. This is a guy who considers himself the most worthless person in existence. That's why I describe ti as Gilgamesh having his existence torn apart. He is being rewritten into being on the same level as Kumagawa. Holy cow.


	8. Chapter 8 - Night 2 (Part 2)

Something I've been thinking over while writing this, and I want to bring it up: my choices for the Heroes summoned.

In Fate/Stay Night, the Grail pulls Heroes from history, real or mythical beings that have been elevated by humanity to Heroic Spirits. However, there are several loopholes in this criteria. The existence of Avenger and Assassin are both big ones, as well as the fact that Heroes can be created without histories, just much weaker since they don't have a background to pull from.

This got me thinking, what criteria to I want to impose on myself with the choices I have available? Do I only want to use Heroes, and if so, how do I define that? The "protagonists" of works, or the good guys in a series? Eventually, I decided to not use the main character of a work. Additionally, I would not hold myself to only using "good" characters. This allows me to pull from some of the more interesting characters in works, and I feel that they have a little more wiggle room to write for than the main character (though the main character often has many more facets of their personality fleshed out).

But, as I'm sure everyone knows, everyone cheats in the Grail War. Who's to say that these rules wont be broken?

* * *

**NIGHT [2]**

* * *

"I can't... I can't run anymore." Damien's breath came in short gasps, his hands on his knees as he leaned back against the pole of a telephone line. Besides him, Valisha was also winded, her sweater now zipped shut against the cold wind that had begun to blow as the night dragged on.

By contrast, Saber seemed hardly phased. He stood bolt upright, his senses straining against the darkness that pushed in around them, alert to any threat that might approach while his companions caught their breath.

His seriousness was slightly hampered by the bags of groceries that he was holding in his arms, but only slightly.

"Do you... do you think... that Lancer can win?" Damien turned his gaze to the girl next to him, who nodded.

"Yes. I believe in Lancer."

Before Damien could respond, the phone in Valisha's pocket began to glow, the symbols on the back shinning through the material of the sweater.

"Whats happening, Miss?" Saber asked, one eye now trained on her front pocket. Wordlessly, the girl pulled the phone out, and began reading the glowing screen. The text scrolling across it was to far away for either boy to make out, but they watched as Valisha's face slowly shifted, first to confusion, then to shock, then to sadness, then settled into an emotionless mask.

As suddenly as the glow had started, the phone stopped, and the girl returned it to her pocket before looking at the other two.

"Lancer's dead. We have to keep moving."

Damien and Saber both exchanged a look, seeing a mirroring expression of shock and confusion in the other's face.

"Dead? How?" Damien managed to get out, his thought process cluttered with a torrent of questions as the girl began to move forward. Hurriedly, he stood up and followed, his exhaustion forgotten as he tried to keep pace with the other master.

"He must have been defeated by one of the two servants that were closing in on us." Saber fell in behind them, one hand now on his forehead as he began to concentrate. After a minute of silence, he spoke again. "One of the big powers has vanished. He must have managed to beat them before he was defeated."

Valisa nodded. "Of course he did. He is my servant"

Damien and Saber exchanged another look. Damien then turned back to the girl by his side. "So, what happens to you now that your servant is out of the game? Can you summon another servant with the phone or..."

His words faded as Vali turned to him, a look of confusion on her face. "I don't quite follow, Mr. Grey. Why would I need another servant when I have Lancer?"

Now just as confused, Damien looked at her, bewildered. "Well, its just... you said Lancer was dead."

"Yes. He is." Valisha nodded, and began to walk again, setting a brisk pace and forcing Damien to take rapid steps to keep up.

"But... if he's dead... that means you no longer have a servant, right?" Damien struggled to continue the conversation as the group reached the end of the street and rounded the corner. Ahead of them was the bridge leading to the other side of town, stretching across the river that wound its way through the center of the city. As they approached, the road seemed desolate, completely empty of traffic.

Except for the girl standing in the middle of the road, facing towards the three of them.

She appeared dressed in a bright pink dress with ruffles at the bottom, tied with a large pink bow in the back. On her hands were finger-less pink gloves, and she wore pink platform-heel boots. Her hair was pulled back into two over-sized, drill shaped pigtails, with another large pink bow resting just off-center on her head. Her face was framed with a few locks of hair, almost obscuring pink, heart shaped earrings. Around her neck was a pink, heart-shaped choker. She had a large pink parasol propped open over her right shoulder, and her left eye was covered with an odd purple eye-patch. When she spotted the three of them round the corner, her face broke out into a wide smile, and she began to wave excitedly.

"Ah, there you guys are! I've been waiting for yooou!" Her voice was enthusiastic, sounding as if she was on the edge of breaking out into heartwarming laughter after every word.

Damien felt the pit drop out of his stomach. "Oh god no. We're all going to die."

Saber looked down at him, confused. "Boss, whats wrong? Do you know this girl?"

"Saber, drop everything and grab Valisha. We have to-" Damien was interrupted by the Pink Girl suddenly standing in front of him, a hurt look now spread across her face. Damien noticed that her eye was a bright blue... and had a smile face reflected in it.

"Are you two going to leave already? But we just met up! Its not nice to run off so soon after meeting." The hurt look vanished, replaced with the that same face splitting smile. "Well, you can't run off if you don't have legs, right? Lets fix that."

Damien barely had time to blink before he felt the wind go out of him. After a second, he managed to catch his breath, and found himself sprawled on the ground, several feet to the right of where he had been standing. Flipping onto his back, he saw Saber standing in the spot Damien had occupied not a second before, glowing energy sword extended. The Pink Girl was standing where she had been, but in her unoccupied left hand now hung a long, purple blade. Its hilt was a purple circle, with no guard, and its blade was slightly angled, with two holes punched in it near the tip and near the base.

"Aww, why did you have him move? It would have been over before he even had time to react. Now I have to chase him down after I deal with you." The Pink Girl's voice was still very lighthearted, but she seemed slightly put out that Saber had prevented her from murdering Damien. Valisha stumbled back, almost tripping over her own feet trying to put distance between the two servants.

"Boss, this chick is crazy. Take the girl and get out of here while I distract her." Saber didn't even glance at Damien, his eyes fixed on the strange girl that stood before him.

"What about not fighting women?" Damien croaked out as he tried to catch his breath.

"Since she tried to turn you into sashimi, I'll make an exception. Now go!" Saber emphasized his statement by leaping forward, attempting to slice the Pink Girl in half. She lazily swung the Purple Blade up, catching the Energy Sword with ease, then taking a step back, forcing Saber to advance to keep up his assault. The Energy Sword hummed as Saber accelerated, soon becoming a golden blur that sang as it sliced through the night, each strike meeting the unflinching material of the Purple Blade with a clang, till a melodic series of notes filled the air as the servants began to fight in earnest.

Dragging himself to his feet, Damien pulled his phone out of his pocket, thumbing through the various menus as he stumbled over to Valisha, who had gathered up the groceries that Saber had dropped. She looked up at Damien as she finished, many different emotions running rampant across her face, finally settling on uncertainty. She clutched the bags close, trying to pull comfort from them, before looking past Damien.

"So, this is what to servants fighting looks like." Damien followed her eyes, catching site of the two whirling figures farther down the road. Saber was still on the attack, but the Pink Servant was now exchanging blows with him, using her parasol to jab at him like a fencing foil while easily blocking attacks.

"Yeah, its really intense. Come on, we have to go before she remembers about us." Damien looked down at his phone, finding the menu he had been looking for.

[Settings]

Valisha looked back at him. "Go? Go where? She's blocking the bridge, and behind us is another servant! We're trapped, Mr. Grey."

Damien nodded absentmindedly. "Yep. Trapped. And the only way out is across the bridge." The settings menu popped open on the phone, and he scrolled down, looking through the various options. "In advance, sorry if this is a bit uncomfortable."

Valisha squeaked in protest as Damien knelt down and picked her up, wrapping an arm behind her back and grabbing her shoulder for support, and the other under her knees. Standing back up, he found that Valisha was very light for her size, rather unsettling so. Pushing that aside, Damien pushed the option he had scrolled to, and watched as another screen popped up on his phone.

'Magic Circuits. [Off] / [On]'

"Mr. Grey, what are you-"

Damien didn't hear the rest of the question as he slid the setting from [Off] to [On], and every sense filled with blinding pain.

Inside his head, Damien felt every synapse light up with fire as a whole new nervous network spread from the tip of his spine down his back. It felt as if he was growing a whole new set of organs as every part of his body was now linked in new and uncomfortable ways. The boiling fire in his brain surged down the new network, till his entire body felt as if it was made of lava, and his form was being melted down for spare parts. His senses felt fuzzy, dulled by the surging, burning feeling that had replaced what he was used to in his daily life. He staggered, thrown off-balance by the new feeling.

"... Damien? Damien?!"

Damien slowly came back to his senses, the burning, hammering pain now an undercurrent to accompany the deluge of sensory information he had been momentarily deprived of. Gritting his teeth, he glanced over at Valisha, who's face was contorted with worry. "Did you say my name?"

"Er, yes. I'm sorry if that was impolite." Valisha's face reddened, but she pressed on, "What happened to you? You're burning up all of a sudden. If its that difficult to carry me, I can walk."

"No, no, you're fine." Damien managed to get out, the dull hammering at the back of his head a reminder that time was ticking. "Just hold on tight."

The girl in his arms looked like she was about to continue her questions, but she closed her mouth and nodded. She wrapped an arm around Damien's neck, and used her free arm to pull the bags close to her chest. "Alright. What now?"

Damien closed his eyes, focusing on the dull hammering inside his head. As he tried to isolate it, the ache took on the appearance of a flashing '[Off] / [On]' switch, the setting currently set to off. The ache intensified as he pictured the switch, and Damien smiled bitterly.

"We hope my legs don't give out. Switch, on."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the imaginary switch flipped inside his head, and the newly formed circuits hummed to life. Damien felt his molars begin to shake as the electrical buzz shot down his spine, igniting the new network of magical nerves the phone had created inside his body. The surging energy crashed through his body, before each circuit once more lit up, the burning fire much less painful but still unpleasant. Damien could feel the strange new circuits inside himself, a map of his body coursing with untapped potential, waiting for direction.

"Leg reinforcement, speed booster." Damien half mumbled, half felt the energy begin to pool in his legs, strengthening and fortifying the muscles, bones, and veins that the circuits had so graciously highlighted for him. He felt the circuits around his lungs and heart begin to heat up, the weird magic nerves warming the organs up for what was to come. The energy began to collect, coiling like a spring in his legs, preparing for its release.

Damien slid one foot back, taking an upright runners stance as he aimed himself down the street, Valisha looking at him with confusion and concern, the two servants ahead of him locked in combat with each other, oblivious to the world around them.

"Let's go." Damien pushed off with his front foot, the stored energy unraveling in a burst of momentum. Vali only managed a small squeak before the wind slammed into both of them, tearing away their voices. A good thing to, as the magic circuits in Damien's body were now burning white hot. Whether he had simply been numb before, or the new system had been healing, it didn't matter as every single circuit now ignited in blinding, intense pain as it surged gleefully up Damien's spinal column and directly into the receptors inside his brain. Everything went spotty as his second foot hit the ground and the pain doubled, but Damien grit his teeth and forced it all back into a small ball, forcing his limbs to keep moving despite the agony his circuits were gleefully unleashing on his body.

The two streaked forward, reaching where Saber and the Pink Girl were fighting in seconds. Saber looked over in surprise to see his master moving at a pace much to fast for a human, while the Pink Servant's face lacked any emotion as she watched her two targets sprint past. This was swiftly replaced with a mask of rage as she shoved Saber back and lunged for the two of them, the Purple Blade arcing down in a brutal slash that caught Damien across the back.

"Glerk!" A strange noise escaped Damien's gritted teeth as the force of the slash knocked him forward, and a warm, wet feeling blossomed on his back with alarming speed. Undaunted, he righted himself, taking off again with the Pink Girl in pursuit, screaming as she swung the blade again and again, attempting to land another cut on Damien. However, as soon as his feet hit bridge, the Girl froze in place, as if she had run straight into an invisible wall. Damien continued forward, but his body began to feel cold despite the burning heat of the circuits within his body. He stumbled, and fell forward...

... and was grabbed by Saber, grinning ear to ear. "Boss! Where the hell were you hiding that? That was awesome!" The tall, orange haired servant continued to grin, and Damien noticed that his left side was covered in bruises from where the parasol had hit him. He was even sporting one over his eye, but the smile on his face didn't reflect the beating he had taken.

"Thanks. Valisha, can you stand?" Damien directed the question to the girl still in his arms, who had been very quiet.

"Yes." The word was barely audible as Damien put her feet down, and steadied her as she stood up. As soon as she got her bearings, she turned to Damien and Saber.

"As... fun... as that was, we should go. I don't feel safe standing here in the open." Saber and Damien both nodded, and as the three started forward, a shriek erupted behind them.

"NO! NO! NONONONONO! WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" All three turned to see the enraged face of the Pink Servant, her hands pressed up against thin air like she was a mime, practically spitting at them she was so angry. "COME BACK HERE SO THAT WE CAN FINISH!"

"No." Damien felt tired, and the girl apparently couldn't go any farther than the road leading up to the bridge. "We're going home, and there's nothing you can do about it."

At that, the girl stopped, becoming chillingly calm. "Nothing I can do about it?" Her face, that had previously been twisted with vehemence, was now glassily smooth. "What do you mean by that?" Damien felt the chill on his back grow stronger as the girl focused her gaze on him. "You annoy me, Mr. Master. I think you should disappear now."

The Pink Servant took a step back from the bridge, then brought the purple blade over her head with both hands. For a second, nothing happened, then the blade shuddered, shooting forward several feet, while another blade shot out from the hilt. The entire weapon shuddered again, then the main blade bent downwards sharply, and the back protrusion sprouted a sickle head. The entire blade shuddered a third time, before growing to about twice its former size and sharpening all over, now a giant, double headed scythe, larger than the Pink Girl.

"Bye-bye, annoying master~!" The Pink Servant called out cheerfully before slamming the blade of the purple scythe down into the bridge. The entire structure shuddered, a giant cracks streaking across the surface of the road, clear to the other side. Large chunks began to break off, spider web lines tracing from the edges to the rift in the center of the bridge. The whole thing groaned under its now unsupported weight, and Damien stumbled, his footing now thrown completely off.

"Boss! Be careful!" Saber tried to move towards Damien, Valisha clinging on to his arm for support as the whole bridge swayed. The ground under all three of them dropped an inch, and a girder to their right leaned down ominously. The whole thing was about to come down. Damien felt even colder, and a sickening realization crept into his mind.

"Saber! Get her out of her!" Damien called out to his servant, who stared at him in confusion for a second, then comprehension dawned on his face.

"No! Boss, we're leaving together! All three of us!" Saber shouted back, while the part they were on dropped another inch.

"Saber. Take Valisha and get her home. Now. That's a command."

As soon as he said it, the phone in his right hand grew hot, and one of the symbols on the back blinked out. Saber froze, a look of absolute defeat running across his face, before resolution set in. He nodded, then turned away from Damien.

"Alright Boss. I'll be right back, you hear?!" Damien couldn't help but notice the sadness in Sabers voice.

"Yeah. All right. Now go."

Saber nodded, then his sword flashed into existence in his right hand. Only, it didn't look anything like his standard sword. Instead, it was a solid block of light, a golden shape super-imposed on reality. It had a circular guard over the hilt, and the blade widened at the top, resembling a diamond. It caught the moonlight, shining in odd ways and lighting up the entire bridge. Saber raised it, then cut down, a single stroke against the air.

And the air ripped open, showing a hole to Damien's yard.

"Lets go, Miss." Saber half pushed, half dragged a stunned Valisha through the hole, then looked back at Damien, tears streaming down his face. "Seeya, Boss."

"Seeya." As Damien said it, the bridge gave out below him, and the hole in the air vanished as he dropped towards the river below.

* * *

The Pink Servant watched as the annoying master fell, the bridge given way beneath him. She wondered if he would make a big splash or a little splash when he hit the water.

As he fell out of sight, however, the air shuddered. The Pink Girl looked to her left just in time to see something blast by, causing the trees and houses to shuddered in its wake. It flew under the bridge, catching the limp form of the annoying master on its surface before it slowed, rising up above the water line.

The Pink Servant struggled to understand what exactly it was. It had four odd protrusions, made of black and sliver material, rising up to form its top. A large red dome made up its center, from which more black and silver material extended down to form its base. The entire thing looked alien and offsetting, something that had not been made on earth.

"Hey! I was trying to kill him! Drop him now!" The Pink Servant began shouting at the foreign ship - it had to be a ship - but to no avail. The strange vessel rotated and flew off, vanishing into the night as the Pink Girl glared indignantly at where it had been. Her cheeks puffed out in annoyance, which would have been cute if she had not destroyed a bridge highhandedly mere moments before.

A slow clap rung out behind her, before a voice dripping with insincerity called out to her, "[That was a wonderful fight! I especially liked the part where lost horribly. Truly, a stellar performance.]"

The Pink Servants head rotated to look behind her, not even bothering to turn. "Oh? You're quite lively for a dead man. Or was that girl mistaken about your death?"

Out of the shadows strode a boy wearing a black school uniform, with unkempt black hair hanging loosely around his head. His arms swung awkwardly as he walked, and he wore a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. His eyes remained cold and black.

"[I did die. It was quite painful, and I had to see someone that thought it was hilarious that my death was so uncool.]" Lancer paused under the light of a street lamp, cocking his head to the side to look at the Girl in Pink. "[After all that, I'm rather annoyed. Would you mind terribly if I took my frustration out on you?]"

The girl appeared in front of Lancer, bringing the Purple Blade down on the two Phillips head screws he was now holding. The weapons ground against each other, a shrill shriek so unlike the subtle clangs heard before. "Sure, as long as you don't mind me killing you. I'm a little annoyed too." The girl's smile never dropped, staring Lancer dead in the eye as she ground the blade downwards with murderous intent.

"[Before we start, do you mind if I ask you who you are? Even minor characters should have proper introductions.]"

The girls eyes narrowed with rage, but her smile remained, stretched across her face. "For a dead man, you sure talk a lot. But I don't want to be rude." She leaned closer, over the blades and screws, till she was barely an inch from Lancer's face.

"I'm Berserker"

* * *

(Author's Note)

WHEW! Lots of writing. Finally started up again, after several months of inactivity.

AND! I think that's all the servants introduced, or at least mentioned. I had a hard time deciding on who to use as Berserker, but I think she'll be appropriate. I went with more of a "Certifiably Insane" than a "Driven Mad" form of madness for the Berserker class. Dunno how it will play out.

ALSO! We saw Saber's Noble Phantasm. I've been wanting to use it, since I really like how it works. Hopefully, Damien's not out of the game yet, and we'll get to see more of it in the future.

... well, nobody got their names revealed, so I guess this section is about closed. If anyone wants a more in depth stats page for Lancer and Gilgamesh, let me know and I'll include it with the next chapter. Which will be much sooner than three months. I promise.


	9. Chapter 9 - Night 2 (Part 3)

I told you I wouldn't be three months this time! Here's the next chapter, within two weeks.

Note, if you guys feel that any of the following character interactions are out of character, please tell me. I would like to make the story better, and that requires me to know when I messed up. If you spot anything you think is odd or out of place, feel free to tell me. Or talk about. Or make fun of it. Every little bit helps.

Anyway, on with the story! Enjoy!

* * *

**NIGHT [2]**

* * *

Lancer was having a bad day.

It had been bad enough that he had acted all cool before fighting Archer, and then still lost. It was even worse after he had to listen to Her laughing at him before he came back to life. But, right now, Lancer truly realized just how crappy his day really was.

A whooshing noise was all the warning Lancer got before the purple blade arced towards his neck. His right hand swung up, a lengthened screw catching the blade between the spiral with a screech. His left hand flew up, a Pan-Head screw stabbing forward into the chest the Pink Girl - Berserker - who's eyes immediately went blank as her hair white.

Her body hit the ground with a thud, before it vanished with a poof, replaced with a paper drawing of the frilly pink dress she had been wearing, the screw now laying on its side. Scattered around him were many similar paper dress, each with another screw embedded in them. And beyond that...

... was a seething mass of Berserkers, forming a ring around where he stood in the middle of the street. Lancer's eyes darted back and forth between the dozens of smiling, leering faces, each one carrying a deadly-sharp, purple blade. The small mob of Servants laughed and mocked him, the voices pouring in from all directions, disorienting and distracting Lancer in equal measures.

Any moment, another Berserker would leap forward, and the purple blade would attempt to sever several of his vital functions. Another screw materialized in Lancers hand as he braced himself, straining his senses in anticipation.

"For a half-dead servant, you fight pretty well." The voice of the Pink-Girl echoed out from the mob, but Lancer was distracted from locating her by two of the surrounding servants charging from opposite directions. Both found themselves slammed downwards, Pan-Screws rammed into their backs, pinning them to the ground, Lancer crouched over their now paper forms.

Another Berserker took the opportunity to leap above him, but Lancer was already moving, and his hand closed around her face at the apex of her jump. The servant shimmered, then vanished into the night. Yet another came out swinging, aiming to take Lancer's legs from below, but she was met with a boot to the face, sending her reeling back into the crowd.

The rest circled him, pulsing slightly as the Berserkers multiplied to restore their depleted ranks. The Pink-Girl's voice rang out again. "You're so mean, hurting my cute little clones like that. But they seem more than capable of playing with you until you're exhausted."

The mass of servants surged forward a few feet, limiting Lancer's movements even more as one by one they continued to jump him. Left, right, up, down, the screws left his hands in a blur, skewering the paper clones and carrying them out of the makeshift arena, but more swarmed forward to take their place. Soon, Lancer was almost buried in a sea of giggling, multiplying, pink Gothic Lolitas.

In short, Lancer was having a really bad day.

* * *

Above the streets, on top of a house overlooking the swarming mass of Pink Servants, the real Berserker looked on with glee as Lancer was buried. The boy was still fighting, as her clones shifted and a few were spat out with screws sticking through them, but she had no doubt that his struggles would soon cease.

Leaning forward on her purple blade, she barely moved as she spoke to the figure standing behind her on the roof. "You know, for a big guy, you're incredibly quiet. I expected you to make a lot more noise sneaking up on me."

From the shadows behind her, the Golden man emerged, the white haired girl clinging to his back. She resembled a tiny doll in comparison to the broadness of his frame, totaly dwarfing her. He continued forward, until he was standing behind Berserker, his body blocking the faint moonlight and leaving her in shadow.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to watch this annoying guy die. You're in my light." Berserker continued facing the street, barely acknowledging the presence of the other servant and master.

The Golden man's voice rumbled up from his chest, once again deep and rich. "My apologizes, my Lady. You are quite perceptive to have noticed me and my companion." On his back, the small girl nodded her head, before looking at the Golden man.

"Archer, is she the one you were looking for?"

At this statement, Berserker's head finally moved, twisting around to face the two of them, though her body remained facing forward. Her face was completely impassive, no emotion visible as she stared at the odd pair. "Archer? You don't look like an Archer to me."

The man laughed, deep and echoing, his entire body shaking with the apparent hilarity of her statement. "Once again, my apologizes. If I may ask, what exactly does an Archer look like to you?"

Berserker finally turned from the road, facing the servant head on. "Doesn't matter. You just dont look like one." Her voice once again became light and bubbly, a smile appearing on her face as she cocked her head to the side endearingly. "More important than that, its so nice to meet another servant. Let me introduce myself."

The purple blade vanished from the spot where it had been embedded in the roof as brace, reappearing in the Pink Girls hands as she thrust it towards the other Servants chest. It halted, about an inch from piercing its target, as a loud clap erupted between them. This was accompanied by a blast of wind, temporarily obscuring the air between them.

As the dust cleared, Berserker found her blade lodged in mid air, suspended between herself and the servant Archer. Her arm and the blade itself shook as she pulled on it, clearly confused as to why it would not budge from its now frozen position. Before her, the Golden Servant remained impassive, watching her struggle with the misbehaving blade, growing more and more frantic as her tugs remained unable to recover the weapon.

"Here, you misplaced this. Let me return it to you." The servant spoke, his deep voice now containing a layer of steel. Berserker stopped pulling on the blade for a second to look at him...

... and found herself embedded in the road, three stories down. A searing pain suddenly hit her, radiating from her gut. Wrenching her head from its new nest in asphalt, she glanced down to find the length of her blade now pierced straight through her abdomen. The pain continued to grow, and the Pink servant struggled to free her arms from the grounds clutches.

"Oh no. It looks like you misplaced your weapon again. Really, you must learn to keep better track of it." Standing just on the edge of her vision was the servant Archer. His gold hair wavered slightly in a breeze blowing in from the river, the tiny girl on his back starring impassively down at Berserker. Neither's eyes held any emotion as they looked at the trapped servant.

Slowly, the two began to approach the trapped servant, taking their time as she continued to work to free herself. As they reached the edge of the crater, Berserker finally got her arm right free, and a grin once again spread over her face. Without blinking, she reached over and yanked the purple blade out of her guts, twirling it above her head before bringing it below her left shoulder.

With a sickening squelch, the blade ripped upwards, severing the still trapped arm. Berserker slammed the blade into the ground on her left and used the leverage of her freed torso to yank the rest of her body out of the ground. As Archer stared on, she pulled her now severed arm from the ground, twirling it slowly as she gazed up at the other servant.

"Now I'm annoyed. That really hurt, you know!" Berserker pouted, puffing out her cheeks at Archer, who continued to stare at the servant below him. Ignoring the impassive man, the Pink girl slammed her blade into the ground up to the hilt, and then sat on it. After placing the limb in her lap, she reached into a small pocket on her dress and pulled out a sewing needle and a spool of glowing red thread. Deftly, she threaded the needle with her teeth, and without missing a beat, stabbed it into the skin of her left shoulder. Pulling it through the skin, she brought it down to the severed arm, poking it through the flesh.

Swiftly, she drew glowing bands of red thread between her missing limb and her shoulder, forming a cross stitch pattern. Pulling tightly, the arm snapped up into place, the extra length drawn out and severed by Berserker's teeth. Tying off the thread in a knot, she put the spool and needle away as the glowing stitches faded into her skin, leaving unblemished skin behind.

She swung the reattached arm around several times, giggling as it popped a few times before settling into place, then reached down and ripped the embedded blade out of the ground before bringing it to rest on her shoulder. She stared up at Archer with the same grin she had as she was sewing her arm back on, and the other servant returned her look with grudging respect.

"Impressive. I know of few people that can reattach severed limbs with such finesse. Tell me, what class are you?"

The girl blinked, startled. "I didn't tell you? How rude of me. I'm Berserker, pleased to meet you." The servant curtsied, and the white haired girl on Archer's back pipped up.

"Master, doesn't that mean that she's crazy?"

Berserker's smile never dropped as she turned to face the small girl holding on to the much larger man. "You are adorable, you know that? I just want to hug you, and squeeze you, and watch as you p-"

Whatever Berserker was going to say was drowned out as an explosion interrupted her. From behind Archer, the mass of clones was violently torn apart, flying in all directions and sailing through the air as the street filled with hundreds of flat tipped screws, all now jutting from the ground like steel undergrowth. They protruded in all directions, and several unlucky paper clones were impaled on them.

In the center of the screw forest, Lancer stood on top of one of the flat heads, a screw in each hand. The black school uniform was covered in streaks of his blood as it dripped from numerous open cuts on his arms and torso, as well as a nasty gash on his forehead. His hair was even more messy than usual, and deep bags hung under his eyes. The smile he always had was gone, replaced with a frown. It was as if the mask he always wore had been stripped away in the explosion, along with the swarm of Berserkers.

"That was annoying. Now I'm going to pay you back for all the frustration I've had to endure today."

Lancer then noticed the second servant, standing on the edge of the crater that Berserker was in. The two looked at each other for a second before Lancer spoke again.

"... Who are you?"

* * *

Lancer stared at the Golden man and Tiny girl combo. Sure, it was pretty decent, but was no where near the level of appeal that was Hand-Bra Jeans. He scratched his head, wondering if she was there as an accessory or as a gimmick to make the man memorable.

His thoughts were cut short as the Golden man called out, his voice echoing off the quite street. "I am the Servant Archer. You would do well to remember that name, boy."

Again, Lancer scratched his head. He eyed the man up and down, then sighed dismissively. "Hah. Best I can give you is a 4/10"

Archer stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"On your Archer imitation. The best I can give you is a 4/10. I mean, honestly, you got the overall color scheme of Gold and Black right, but you're far to buff to properly imitate him. And I mean, whats with the style choices? He didn't even have a heart motif on any part of his clothes."

Now Archer and Berserker were both starting at Lancer. Archer finally managed to get out a strangled "What."

"On top of that, are you even trying to copy his personality? Your unable to properly portray his contempt for everyone else, and your mimicry of his speech pattern is way off." Lancer sighed again, before his eyes narrowed and he looked at Archer with a smirk. "In fact, your overall appearance and obviously self-inflated ego is much closer to that of a minor villain. It practically screams 'Killed in Act 1'"

Archer vanished. The next second, Lancer felt countless blows raining into his chest, pummeling him over and over again. The punches soon overlapped, turning into a wall of pain that was attempting to force its way through Lancer's chest cavity with all the subtly of a brick. Another second ticked by, and the force of all the blows released, hurling Lancer down the street, his body spinning through the air, blood trailing back in graceful arcs.

Lancer hit the ground with a crunch, whatever bones left intact from the two separate beatings he had received now hopelessly pulverized. Gasping, he dragged himself upright, the gash on his forehead now bleeding freely, his left eye forced shut from the trickle and from a freshly swelling bruise. He locked eyes with Archer, who was now standing on the screw where Lancer had been moments before.

"Did I touch a nerve? It seems you're not to happy being compared to a minor villain."

Archer neck bulged, the muscles contracting as he glared at the other Servant. Berserker landed lightly on a screw behind Archer, the purple blade dangling loosely at her side. Lancer laughed, a mirthless sound as he stared down the other two servants, blood beginning to pool around his feet. It looked like the blows inflicted by Berserker's clones had been torn open by whatever Archer had done.

"Archer, lets murder each other later. I want to see him die at my own hands." Berserker's voice didn't match her words, once again happy and cheerful contrasting the violent nature of her actions. Archer nodded, never taking his eyes off the young man, and the two began to advance across the field of screws.

Lancer straightened himself, mustering all of his energy to take up a defensive stance. As the two servants advanced, he began to talk.

"You know, I told that other servant my name because he's everything I despise. He had everything, and that made me want to pound his face in. An Elite like him is someone a Loser like me could never get along with." Lancer's eyes glinted as he gazed at the two approaching servants. "But you two? You're both Loser's, just like I am."

Both of the servants stopped, startled by his words. Discarding his stance, Lancer spread his hands, gesturing to both of them. "Its ingrained inside you, isn't it? That almost stink that you can never wash off, a mark that you carry with you everywhere you go. Other people can sense it, and resent you for making them uncomfortable. Life has kicked you into the gutter, and everyone else is all to eager to keep on kicking. I know what that's like."

The other servants were shocked to find themselves nodding, agreeing with the dark haired servant. Lancer smiled sympathetically, then continued "You've both been dealt a bad hand by fate. Life has sucked, and you've been forced to live with it." Then his eyes narrowed, anger creeping into his voice. "I know that pain well, and how much it hurts to lose. So I shouldn't be surprised that you would choose to cast aside that pain, to run away from it, instead of embracing it. But, because you've rejected your pain, because you didn't deal with it, you cannot not beat me."

Lancers arms fell down to his sides, his footing now shaky as he continued to glare at the other two servants, anger now coursing through his words as he shouted at them. "Two losers that tossed aside their bad hands for a new one will never be able to beat me, the greatest loser! Now, come on and show me what you've got!" The last few words were a roar, Lancer's eyes burning as he fell forward onto his hands and knees, never letting his gaze leave their faces.

For a second, the two faltered, unsure. Then, Archer vanished, a hail of blows raining down in a sudden downpour of suffering on Lancer's unprotected back. The force was so great that he bounced several feet along the ground after the sudden storm had ended. He came to rest inside the thicket of screws, but before he could respond, Berserker was above him, her sword aimed at his heart. Standing next to her was Archer, and both gazed down at him with barley concealed contempt.

"Any last words I can tell your master when I go to kill her?" Berserker asked cheerfully, her sword tracing little figure eights above his chest.

"[Just two: Leg-Eater Forest.]"

All around Lancer, the screws shuddered, before erupting out of the ground and growing. Their heads immediately sharpened, becoming points that pierced up and through the two servants standing on them, who both cried out in surprise and pain. Instantly, the two retreated, ripping several chunks of themselves on the screws threads as they rushed to freedom.

Laughing, Lancer stood, pulling one of the lengthened screws from the ground... revealing a pan-head. The other two servants were gasping, their faces pallid with exhaustion and exertion. The young girl on Archer's back slid off, landing lightly on the ground and looking at Archer with a concerned expression.

"What... what did you do to me?" Archer gasped, the holes in his legs bleeding profusely. However, as Lancer watched, the holes rapid closed, leaving only tears in the pant legs. Looking to his left, Lancer saw that Berserker had been pierced through the stomach, but the holes were knitting themselves shut with a patchwork of red threads, spun from her flesh. She seemed much more annoyed by the holes in her pink dress then by the stab wounds.

"[You both were hit by my Noble Phantasm, Bookmaker.]" Lancer hefted the screw in his hand, holding it like a sword. He retreated into the thicket of screws, their heads once again flattening so that he could stand on them. "[Anyone hit by it has everything about them reduced to my level. As long as the Screw is inside you, you will will feel what its like to be me.]"

Both servants blanched, their eyes wide at the memory those screws had burned into their minds. "What... what are you?" Berseker asked, a look of actual concern flashing onto her face as she stared at the dark haired boy, his body torn to shreds and covered in blood, who was now standing on a sea of the cursed screws... smiling.

"[My name is Kumagawa Misogi. I am the worlds greatest loser.]" The wind whipped up, tugging at his tattered clothes and messy hair, and Kumagawa readied himself, trying to look cool as he prepared to once again engage the two servants before him.

However, their fight was cut short as a flat, golden shape made of compressed light was thrust into existence behind Lancer, accompanied by a tearing sound. The golden object was dragged downwards, and a rift formed in the air itself, leading into a bedroom, occupied by a girl with silvery white hair, and a tall man with a white trench-coat and an orange pompadour.

"You're right! He is alive! Hey, you punk, lets go!" Saber yelled at the surprised Lancer, one arm holding the flat sword of light. The other arm was outstretched through the rift towards Lancer. He stared at it for a second, then let out a sigh and smiled.

"[And here I was trying to put up a strong front. Sorry, you two, but my rides here.]"

As Kumagawa grabbed the proffered hand, Archer and Berserker both began screaming. No words, just wordless rage as they both leaped forward. Berserker's sword cut down through air as Lancer was pulled safely through the rift by Saber, but Archer continued to approach. Before Saber could get his sword back up, Archer was upon them, bearing down with an unstoppable furry.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE! ZA WA-!" His cry was cut off suddenly, as he rammed head first into a metal shield that was now between him and the rift. His head crunched sickeningly, and he slid to the ground, his momentum canceled. Everyone looked in confusion at the strange, round shield that had appeared in the middle of the air.

And the Dark Haired girl it was attached to. She was young, probably in middle school, and wearing what appeared to be a Japanese school girl uniform. It was white, long sleeved shirt with a wide, purple collar. This was worn over another long sleeved shirt, this one black, with a neck collar. The over-shirt tapered to two points in the front and one point in the back over a purple skirt with white trim. It had two purple ribbons, one under the black shirt collar, and one in the back of the white over-shirt. On her feet were black high heels and she was wearing black, thigh-high stockings. In her hair was a red ribbon, tied off to the side in a bow.

On her forearm was the strange shield, made of a bronze-ish metal with three domes on its surface. It was engraved with a strange swirling pattern, and a faint ticking could be heard from it. "That wont stop him for long. Hurry and close your gate." Her voice was serious and businesslike, not at all like her young face and school girl ensemble. Her back was to the rift, and despite her size, she seemed to fill it with presence.

"Uh... okay." Saber some what lamely replied, his brain failing him as he stared at this new development. As he moved forward to seal the rift, Archer righted himself. His head was crooked, bent to the side, and a large dent was in his temple, where it had collided with one of the domes. Without even flinching, he righted his own skull with a sickening pop, and the dent in his head began to slowly push itself back out. After a few seconds, the only hint that an injury was there at all was a line of blood from the impacted temple down to Archer's chin.

"Oh, goody, another person to talk to. Tell me, who are you supposed to be?"

The girl didn't even flinch at the sight of a man's head reshaping, and started to walk forward. "Saber, close the gate."

Saber gulped. "Yes ma'am." The last he, Lancer, and Valisha saw of the girl was her walking confidently towards the giant Golden man.

* * *

Archer stood opposite the new arrival. She certainly didn't look like she was a serious threat, but neither had the kid from before. Archer could still feel the overwhelming despair that those screws had left inside him, the sense of powerlessness. He wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating her.

"I asked who you were supposed to be. I wont ask a third time."

The girl stared at him as if he wasn't even there. "There's no need to tell my name to a dead man." With that, she reached behind the ticking shield... and dragged out a long cylindrical tube with a handle and flared ends.

Archer's brain took a second to process what he was seeing, as the grail fed him information on what he was looking at. Then his eyes widened.

"What the-" That was as far as he got before the girl pulled the trigger on the RPG launcher she had withdrawn. The rocket inside blasted out, leaving behind a huge trail of smoke as it streaked towards the Golden man, his face contorted in shock and disbelief.

"ZA! WARUDO!" Archer yelled out as the rocket neared him... and everything stopped. The whole world came to a standstill as everything in it seemed to slow down and then freeze. The missile fired by the girl froze mere inches from his chest, and Archer breathed a sigh of relief.

... before blasts of gun fire erupted from the smoke, and the girl burst through the frozen cloud, dual wielding automatic pistols in each hand. The bullets roared in the silent space, ripping through Archer like wet butter as his eyes went wide.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Archer roared, his eyes bugged as the girl advanced towards him. "NO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE INSIDE THE-" His words were cut off as a bullet tore through his Jaw, severing it from his head. His eyes narrowed, then the girl swung her shield to the right just in time to block a blow from a giant golden fist that had suddenly appeared.

The fist was connected to the body of a large man, heavily muscled and broad shouldered. His skin was a grayish-white color, and he wore golden pants and gauntlets. His head was covered by a golden mask, starting below his nose and sweeping back behind his head. It was connected by two cables to a set of diving tanks on his back, held in place by two large, white, puffy straps going over both shoulders and down to his pants' waist. On the back of his golden gauntlets were two clock faces, and on his belt, crotch, and knees were green hearts.

The man's face was emotionless as the girl's shield absorbed the blow, but it sent her flying back across the field of screws. Upon landing, she twisted the dome in the center of the shield, and froze in place, unable to move, just like the rest of the world.

Archer's jaw regenerated, and he began to laugh. "That surprised me. I wasn't expecting someone else would be able to move here. However, looks like she cant keep it up forever." Around him, the world once again resumed its normal pace...

... and the missile hit him square in the chest. Archer screamed as the projectile exploded, but that was quickly silenced as most of his chest disappeared in the explosion. What was left of him was engulfed in fire, shrapnel, and pain. Stumbling backwards, he fell to the ground, rolling as the fire continued to burn. The girl allowed herself a grim smile, before turning towards Berserker... who wasn't there anymore.

"Up heeereee!" The girl looked up to see Berserker standing on a rooftop, waving down at the two of them. And under her other arm was the from of the small girl Archer had been carrying around.

"Don't mind me, I'll just be taking this Master and leaving. You two have fun!" Berserker called out, before turning to leave. Instantly, the Dark Haired girl was behind her, now holding only a single, much larger pistol. Specifically, a Desert Eagle, which she had aimed at Berserker's back.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." The dark haired girl pulled the trigger, squeezing off a round directly into the Servants back. It blew through her chest, punching a fist sized hole out the other side, and Berserker screamed as the Dark Haired girl pulled the trigger again and again, blasting more holes through her. Once the clip was empty, the pink servant fell forward, her body heaving as it tried to repair the damage. Meanwhile, the Dark Haired girl scooped up the small girl, who looked on with disinterest to everything happening to her.

"I'll be taking her. Thank you."

A shriek of rage echoed behind her, and the Dark Haired girl turned to see Archer rushing up the side of the building towards them. His chest still had a massive gouge in it, but it had begun to heal, enough that he could move. He was still on fire, the skin peeling off as it regrew under the intense heat.

"WRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY!" The large, angry Golden Man screeched as he launched himself towards the two women. The Dark Haired girl calmly pulled out a small cylinder, with a clear covering on one end, and dropped it between the two servants. Both their eyes were drawn to it as the girl twisted the dome on her shield and vanished.

"Sh-Shiiiiiii-!" Both servants cried out as the Pipe Bomb detonated, taking out the roof of the building and splattering the regenerating servants.

* * *

Across the river, on the other side of the collapsed bridge, the Dark Hair girl adjusted the tiny White Haired girl on her back. The small girl clung to her, seeming content to latch on like a makeshift backpack. Turning her gaze into the western style housing district, the Dark Haired girl began to move, leaving behind the carnage of the Servants fight for the rapidly approaching sirens to find.

* * *

Urrgh... can I just say that I hate typing Berserker? It is the only servant name that isn't recognized by the text document, and I have a tendency to forget the first r. So I have to go back and check by hand that i spelled them right. Especially with all the possessive tenses.

Congrats Berserker. You are now my least favorite Servant to write, simply because your name gives me trouble while typing it.

On to other notes, this is the last of night 2! Hooray! Next section we will be moving on to Day 3, and seeing what lies in store for the characters after their night of mayhem. There's been what... three or four fights this night? Jeez.

Also, I am pretty sure I have introduced all the Servants by now, so feel free to try and guess who they all are.

For now, my brain needs a break. Next chapter soon.


End file.
